North-east university links up with China
Agreement will endeavour to control pollution in eastern country
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A north-east university has forged links with China in an attempt to control pollution in the increasingly urban country.
Representatives of Aberdeen University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences were in Beijing yesterday to form the Institute of Environmental Technologies. The university will be setting up an office at the Beijing-based academy.
The official signing represents a new form of agreement between the university and the academy to focus on environmental technologies.
China, which has been under pressure to control pollution before August’s Olympic Games, recently pledged that Beijing’s air quality will be up to the standard laid down by the World Health Organisation by the time they are held.
The focus of the collaboration will be the rapid urbanisation of parts of China. The partnership aims to develop technologies to control pollution and to transfer Scottish technology so that it can be used in China.
Professor Dominic Houlihan, vice-principal for research and commercialisation at the university, signed the memorandum.
He said: “The speed of China’s development means it can learn a great deal both in legislation and technology from the western world’s slow response to the environmental consequences of industrialisation.
“The partnership is extremely important in optimising exposure of the test system in China, and co-developing new products specifically for the Chinese market, where we believe there is a great need for rapid, routine ecotoxicity testing.”
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Learning Fiona Hyslop witnessed the signing in Beijing.
She said: “On the same day as the Scottish Government signs a strategic development with the Chinese education ministry, this agreement demonstrates the growing potential for Scottish universities to make exciting links with Chinese counterparts. China presents us all with an opportunity to drive forward sustainable economic growth for Scotland, and collaborations like Aberdeen’s show how Scottish research and technology can play a big part in the global marketplace.”
She also raised concerns, however, about China’s human-rights record during talks in Beijing yesterday.
At the start of a six-day visit, Ms Hyslop met the Chinese vice-minister of education, Wu Qidi. She voiced concerns about abuses of human rights and, in particular, the situation in Tibet, where people are campaigning for independence.
Last month, Shetland Lib Dem MSP Tavish Scott urged Ms Hyslop to cancel her trip to China because of the unrest in Tibet, but ministers said it had the support of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan religious leader in exile.
Yesterday, a Scottish Government spokesman said: “Fiona Hyslop did take the first opportunity she had on the first day of her visit to China to raise the Scottish Government’s concerns about human-rights issues in discussion with China’s vice minister of education.”
The Scottish stance is supported by Amnesty International’s Scottish programme director, John Watson. He believes “engagement can provide the opportunity to push for exchange”.
The memorandum of understanding establishes formal collaboration in a number of areas. It also allows for an undergraduate summer school and development of Sino-Scottish scholarships for PhD studies.
Ms Hyslop said: “This formally recognises our joint desire to work together for the sake of our young people’s education and the benefits that it brings to both countries’ economy and society. Scotland and China both have a proud tradition of learning. Now, we want to learn from each other.”
There are almost 5,000 Chinese students studying at Scottish universities.
