The contest was jointly initiated by China's Ministry of Personnel and the provincial government of Fujian in southeastern China.

"The contest will run at a specific website, so participants in the program will not be limited by time and space," said Shu Huiguo, vice-minister of personnel, who is also director of the contest's organizing committee.

"By logging onto the website of www.cncy.net, competitors can easily upload their creative projects or advanced technical achievements," Shu said.

On the web, competitors can also find free services such on-line enrollment and consultation, as well as a databank of talent people. The contest is mainly targeted at overseas Chinese.

Business pioneer projects in fields like electronics and information technology, medicine, bioengineering, new materials, new energy, environmental protection, high-tech agriculture and service sector are encouraged.

The projects uploaded on the website will be assessed between July and September this year by specialists in respective fields, who will focus on the projects' technical advantages, market prospects, feasibility and industrialization.

To prevent the projects being disclosed by any means, all specialists participating in the evaluation will be required to sign a contract to seal their lips.

Zhang Jiakun, vice-governor of Fujian Province and executive vice director of the program, said that "First-class projects can get support from the Ministry of Personnel and the Fujian provincial government."

"Overseas Chinese scholars who return to start up their own businesses will enjoy preferential policies in terms of loan application, land using, and income allocation," Zhang said.

To date, the number of Chinese who have studied overseas have totaled 460,000, taking up 30 percent of the world's total.

As China's economy maintains fast growth amidst the world's economic downturn, many more Chinese overseas scholars choose to come back home.

(China Daily June 29, 2002)