STORY:
Chinese scientists to define millennium beginning

Amid mounting global concern that the so-called millennium bug will stall computers and fuel chaos on January 1, 2000, China's leaders have ordered scientists to tackle a more basic question: when does the new millennium begin?

Top astronomers tasked with resolving the conundrum speak with one voice.The new millennium would not begin until Jan. 1, 2001 Reuters reports the scientists as saying. "Some people are beginning their celebrations a bit early because the year 2000 is an important date," said Lu Benkui, director of the Zijinshan Observatory in eastern Nanjing.

Benkui tells Reuters, "But we believe the 21st century and the third millennium will not begin until the year 2001."Zijinshan has set China's national calendar since 1928 and is the only observatory in the country dedicated to such research.

Lu said he had already submitted his team's formal decision on the date to the central government and was awaiting a reply. "They asked and I responded," he told Reuters, noting that Beijing's say in the matter was final. "I have yet to receive an official response."

Debate over when to mark the start of a new millennium was fuelled when science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke issued a public statement to counter the common perception that the year 2000 marks the opening of a new era. "Because the Western calendar starts with Year 1, and not Year 0, the 21st century and the third millennium do not begin until Jan. 1, 2001," Clarke said.

"They are not my views, I am just stating the fact," he said. Chicago will postpone its millennium celebrations to 2001 on Clarke's advice, but other cities are reluctant. Lu said he has been following debate about the question on the Internet and defended his team's decision."We have the same view as the top observatories in the United States, Britain and France," he said.

However, Lu admitted that most people in China would spend midnight on Dec. 31, 1999, marking what they believe is the beginning of the new millennium.

DATE: 1/21/99

For more E2000 stories, click here:
news | events | Y2K | today's news

Marketplace
Books
Collectibles
Celebration Supplies
General Merchandise
Travel Packages