China has attracted global attention last year for revealing that it is building a massive telescope designed to listen for signs of extraterrestrial life. The telescope, dubbed FAST (Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope), will possibly become the world's largest of its kind. Recent reports have added interest into this technological project as the Chinese government announced that it is uprooting 9,000 villagers in order to make way for the telescope's construction.
The move, which is being called a "mass relocation" involves 2,029 families whose homes are located within the 5-kilometer area of the Pingtang and Luodian counties where the telescope is located, according to a Xinhua news report.
It is not yet known whether there is resistance from the villagers affected by the move. Each person, however, would be entitled to $1,800 for housing compensation, but only if the plan for indemnity pushes through. It is important to note that this type of forced relocation is not new in China. Its government, for instance, has displaced more than a million of residents along the Yangtze River in order to construct the Three Gorges Dam, the New York Times reported.
The 500-meter telescope is set to replace the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which is currently the world's largest telescope with its 300-meter diameter. A Chinese scientist behind the project claimed that if the telescope was filled with wine, all of the 7-billion strong humans could take up to five bottles each from the massive bowl, the Guardian reported.
The FAST telescope, which will also gather data on several cosmic phenomena such as pulsars, black holes and galaxies, is expected to be finished in September this year.
