The progress of China Earth observation from space and the economy

Li, Chuanrong

doi:10.1109/icccas.2002.1179085

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Yet Chinese scientists appear to have envisioned human-focused EO before they had ready access to VHR imagery. In 2002—the same year satellite imagery was used in a Chinese court to convict an individual of illegal deforestation—Li Chuanrong, Deputy Director-General of the China Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station, noted, “If we realized that the EO is being in transition from science supported to EO business, and if we agree that EO business is principally an information business, we have to operationally provide the valuable information for the demands of economy, social strategy, politics and environment in daily bases [sic]” (Li, 2002: 1611). In 2010—three years before China would launch its first VHR satellite—one Chinese master's thesis observed that remote sensing had “played an important role in farmland protection, land monitoring, law enforcement and deterrent” (Li, 2010).…”

Section: Governance By Satellites: Crystal Balls As the Long Arm Of T...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Describing the aforementioned CHEOS program, Chinese scientists Chen et al (2022a: 2) state, “CHEOS promotes the transformation and upgrading of satellite systems from ‘focusing on research and test’…, formulates the satellite product and application system with Chinese flavors, and progressively provides global services.” Commodifying EO services “with Chinese flavors” advances a suggestion made in 2002 by Li Chuanrong, Deputy Director-General of the China Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station. He recommended that EO technologies be used to serve “national economic construction” and exported (Li, 2002: 1610). Already, China has made headway in disseminating other satellite services like its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System.…”

Section: Globalizing Eo “With Chinese Flavors”mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Chinese sociotechnical imaginaries of Earth observation: From sight to foresight

Bennett

2023

Big Data & Society

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although Earth observation (EO) is considered a universal scientific technique with a hegemonic gaze, national sociotechnical imaginaries shape its practice. Historically established and organized by national governments, EO, which is commonly pursued via satellite remote sensing, depends on domestic perceptions of the technique's scope and applications. EO is also a political technology with the capacity to mediate and potentially regulate life on Earth at a range of scales. In China, the state and scientists endeavor to transform EO into a data-driven, inductive, and predictive method with a focus on social coordination, especially in cities—a key scale for scientific study and the organization and reproduction of state power. Contributing to China's reimagining of EO as a governance and governmentality tool are advances in social sensing, which leverages big data continuously generated by individuals’ devices. By analyzing big EO and social data, rather than only observe past and present changes to the Earth's surface, the Chinese state and scientists seek to predict future social events. While these changes are narrated as a popularization of remote sensing enabling more responsive, human-centric governance, they may augur the rise of antipolitical technologies that attempt to prevent dissent by determining and even guiding future behavior. As China, a satellite power, aims to export its services for observing and predicting Earth and upscale them through global governance, critique of their associated sociotechnical imaginaries is crucial. Such research reveals the heterogeneity of the satellite gaze and may identify where and how people hold power within EO systems.

show abstract

Section: Governance By Satellites: Crystal Balls As the Long Arm Of T...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Globalizing Eo “With Chinese Flavors”mentioning

confidence: 99%