The National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee's inspection team for the enforcement of the Law on the Popularization of Science and Technology visits the Science and Technology Hall in Shihezi city, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, June 7, 2022.[Photo/npc.gov.cn]

A team led by Cai Dafeng, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), inspected the enforcement of the Law on the Popularization of Science and Technology in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region from June 6 to 11.

The inspection team heard reports on the law enforcement in the autonomous region at a symposium held in the capital city of Urumqi on June 6, and visited several cities to collect ideas from different sectors through various methods, such as field surveys, discussions, random inspections and questionnaire surveys.

At the symposium, Cai hailed Xinjiang's progress in implementing the law and improving the regulations, policies and working mechanisms to promote the popularization of science.

Stressing that the endeavor is crucial for advancing innovation-driven development, he called for greater efforts to enhance people's scientific literacy, create a better environment that is friendly to the understanding and application of science and technology, and make sure that  science popularization plays a more visible role in improving people's livelihoods, advancing rural vitalization and maintaining social stability.

It's important to further strengthen the law enforcement, establish an assessment system for the performance of the popularization initiative, and intensify online publicity to better engage the public, according to Cai.

Governments at all levels should secure policy and funding support for the endeavor, aim to boost science popularization in rural and underdeveloped regions, and accelerate the establishment of a local regulatory system to push forward the law enforcement, he added.

The National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee's inspection team for the enforcement of the Law on the Popularization of Science and Technology visits the seed science education base at Kepekyuzi township, Ili Kazakh autonomous prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, June 9, 2022. [Photo/npc.gov.cn]