On July 21, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) launched the Academy for Evaluation of Social Sciences in China.
The decision to found the new academy conforms to the agenda and development strategies of CASS. It is also a response to the requirements President Xi Jinping put forward at a symposium last year on developing philosophy and social sciences in China as well as the expectations Xi presented in his congratulatory letter to CASS on the 40th anniversary of its establishment.
Wang Weiguang, president of CASS, and Wang Jingqing, vice-president of CASS, unveiled the nameplate for the newly established academy at the meeting hosted by Zhang Jiang, who is also vice-president of CASS.
In his speech, Wang Weiguang said the academy should focus on three tasks: focusing on the goals of evaluation, working out concrete measures and cultivating professional talent.
Discussing the objectives, Wang Weiguang said the academy will establish itself as a promoter of Marxism, an ideological fortress and the most authoritative organization for the evaluation of philosophy and social sciences in China, which will contribute to the construction of an evaluation system with Chinese characteristics in the field.
The academy should take responsibility for formulating and improving evaluation standards, Wang Weiguang said. It should keep abreast of the times, cultivate talent through Party building, encourage innovation and promote international cooperation to increase its influence at home and broad, he added.
Wang Weiguang said that cultivating a talent team with correct political views and professional knowledge is the basis and the key task for the evaluation of philosophy and social sciences.
Moreover, academic competence and morality of practitioners in the field should also be examined. The academy should strengthen team building in order to adapt to increasingly complicated and arduous tasks in evaluating philosophy and social sciences, he said.
Evaluation of philosophy and social sciences is an emerging field that requires further research. Wang Weiguang said he hopes the academy will achieve theoretical innovations while exploring principles and methodologies to better guide evaluation practices, thus laying a foundation for the construction of an evaluation system for philosophy and social sciences in China.
Author: ZHANG FENGNA
Source: Chinese Social Sciences Today