People are greeting the arrival of the new millennium, longing for peace, stability, happiness and success. But many watch it with distress, worry, misgivings and even terror. Indeed we are entering the new century laden with a multitude of unresolved issues left over from the 20th century. //

Scientists worry about the population explosion that may occur in the 21st century; the population size would surpass the carrying capacity of the earth. More than six billion people live on the earth today, 20 times as many as a millennium ago and a four times growth witnessed in the past century. Despite a gradual tapering down of the natural growth rate in the world, it remains as high as 1.5% per year. And at this rate the world population would double by the year 2050 and reach 26 billion by the year 2100. China has 1.25 billion people today and there would be no space for descendants to live in if the population doubles again. //

Another worry is environment pollution, the destruction of the homeland of humanity. Hardly does a day pass by without new reports for the doom of the world: exhaust fumes, ozone hole, global warming and sea level rising, etc. The worsening of the ecosystem makes people uneasy and tops the agenda of the United Nations. Astronomers work hard to seek after extraterrestrial oasis, but without success. Venus is too hot, Mars is too cold and the moon is void of air. //

The Proxima Centauri, closest neighbor of our solar system, is 4.3 light years away and astronauts cannot reach it within their lifetime by a most advanced spaceship, to say nothing of where to land and to live. Mankind will be bound to the earth, nowhere to escape to. There is sound reason for people to fret about the worsening of the global ecosystem. //

Today more than one billion people are struggling to get rid of starvation and poverty, fighting for subsistence and fretting about the future of their children. As former IMF president points out, poverty is the gravest issue in the world today and it is being tackled at an intolerable speed. //

The gap between the developed and the developing nations has become an explosive issue which is affecting social stability and people's peaceful life from the very foundation. A sense of honor comes from a decent material life; civility rests on affluence. When people are tortured by hunger and cold and see no light at the other end of the tunnel, how could they appreciate the aurora of the new century? //

Many people have misgivings about the "globalization" in recent years. Quite a few people in developing countries doubt whether it isn't a new trick of the capitalist powers for world domination, an attempt to encroach upon the sovereignty of other nations,corrupt their national culture, squeeze out their national industry and hamper their economic development. People who have shaken off the colonialist fetters in the 20th century are still fresh with their frightful memory of the past. //

As the Malaysian Prime Minister put it recently, Southeast Asia risks being colonized again unless the force of globalization is regulated. Some people even cried out: "The colonialists are coming back under a new flag!" Even in the developed countries, there is no lack of people who are doubtful about globalization. They made havoc of the WTO Seattle Conference last year and then followed it to Bangkok with demonstrations last February. //

A mass demonstration against "economic globalization" held in Washington D.C. last April accused the World Bank and IMF of keeping down the poor, shackled by increasing debt and exploited by unfavorable policies. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan pointed out on 12 February that the few economic powers were fully responsible for the failure of the WTO Seattle Meeting.

It is a general belief among economists that "globalization" is a double-edged sword which is beneficial and harmful to any nation and people at the same time. //

(Excerpt from Song Jian's speech "Scientists Greet Globalization with Open Arms" at CPPCC's "the 21st Century Forum")