Nobel laureate Yang Chenning and renowned physicist Paul Chu Ching-wu gave the mainland's scientific research community a shot in the arm by predicting that the next Chinese Nobel-winning scientist would appear within the next 20 years.
At a forum organised by Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Asia-Pacific Taiwan Federation of Industry and Commerce, the luminaries shared their thoughts on science, education and life.
More than 300 people, including Secretary for Home Affairs Tsang Tak-sing, attended the forum, called 'Dialogue between Science and Civilisation', at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai.
Both scientists were upbeat about the future of mainland scientific research. Professor Yang, who won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1957, commended researchers for transforming the mainland from a technological backwater into a breeding ground for aspiring scientific talent.
'Instead of growing at a slow clip, science is developing very fast in China,' he said. 'It has been developed in China for only a short time. It's remarkable that it could reach the present level within such a short period.
'When I was studying at the National Southwestern Associated University, there were not many students in the physics department. However, I heard that a meeting of Peking University's physics department could attract 2,000 people in the 50s.
'If China hadn't put much effort into nurturing physics talent, how could it have manufactured the atomic bomb in 1964?