<p>China will move nearly 10,000 people to make way for the world's largest radio telescope which promises to help humanity search for alien life, state media reported today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), nestled between hills in the southwestern province of Guizhou, is due to start operation this year.<br /><br />Provincial officials have vowed to relocate 9,110 residents living within five kilometres of the listening device by September, the official Xinhua news agency said.<br /><br />The relocations will "create a sound electromagnetic wave environment", it cited a top regional official named Li Yuecheng as saying.<br /><br />Residents will receive USD 1,800 in subsidies for their troubles, with some getting extra support for housing, it said.<br /><br />FAST, built at a cost of 1.2 billion yuan, will dwarf the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico as the world's largest radio telescope, which is some 300 metres in diameter.<br /><br />Xinhua earlier cited Wu Xiangping, director-general of the Chinese Astronomical Society, as saying that the telescope's high level of sensitivity "will help us to search for intelligent life outside of the galaxy".<br /><br />In the past China has relocated hundreds of thousands of people to make way for large infrastructure projects such as dams and canals. Many complain of poor compensation.<br /><br />The area surrounding the telescope is remote and relatively poor. Xinhua earlier said it was chosen because there are no major towns nearby.<br /><br />As well as upping investment in astronomy, Beijing is accelerating its multi-billion-dollar space exploration programme, with plans for a permanent orbiting station by 2020 and eventually a manned mission to the moon.</p>
<p>China will move nearly 10,000 people to make way for the world's largest radio telescope which promises to help humanity search for alien life, state media reported today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), nestled between hills in the southwestern province of Guizhou, is due to start operation this year.<br /><br />Provincial officials have vowed to relocate 9,110 residents living within five kilometres of the listening device by September, the official Xinhua news agency said.<br /><br />The relocations will "create a sound electromagnetic wave environment", it cited a top regional official named Li Yuecheng as saying.<br /><br />Residents will receive USD 1,800 in subsidies for their troubles, with some getting extra support for housing, it said.<br /><br />FAST, built at a cost of 1.2 billion yuan, will dwarf the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico as the world's largest radio telescope, which is some 300 metres in diameter.<br /><br />Xinhua earlier cited Wu Xiangping, director-general of the Chinese Astronomical Society, as saying that the telescope's high level of sensitivity "will help us to search for intelligent life outside of the galaxy".<br /><br />In the past China has relocated hundreds of thousands of people to make way for large infrastructure projects such as dams and canals. Many complain of poor compensation.<br /><br />The area surrounding the telescope is remote and relatively poor. Xinhua earlier said it was chosen because there are no major towns nearby.<br /><br />As well as upping investment in astronomy, Beijing is accelerating its multi-billion-dollar space exploration programme, with plans for a permanent orbiting station by 2020 and eventually a manned mission to the moon.</p>