Under the plan, the ministry will assist members of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, and professors in major universities who are taking on large-scale national projects, Li Weihong, the ministry's Department for Personnel Affairs, said at a news conference in Beijing Thursday.

"Higher-level people are important and still in dire need for the country's technological innovation and economic growth," said Li.

Each year, the ministry will aid 1,000 young college teachers who are excellent in the natural sciences and the arts, to encourage them to make breakthroughs in such fields.

The ministry will also assist an additional 10,000 young college teachers to help them improve their teaching efficiency, according to the plan.

Li said the ministry will make additional efforts this year to lure back overseas Chinese scholars who excel at high technology and basic research.

She said the ministry will allocate special funds for the effort, but did not cite specific figures.

The ministry will also implement the Cheung Kong Scholar Program among national universities. It was set up in 1998 by the ministry and the Hong Kong-based Li Ka-shing Foundation to fund mainland schools so they could invite domestic or overseas professors annually. The educators must be involved in cutting-edge science.

Starting this year, the program will assist 200 outstanding domestic or overseas professors to work in mainland universities.

(China Daily June 18, 2004)