China Report: Science and Technology, No. 79

This document, a 1981 report from the Foreign Broadcast Information Service, presents a translation of an article titled 'Preliminary Survey of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in China' originally published in the Chinese journal Ziran Zazhi (Nature Journal) in September 1980. The authors, Cha Leping and Lin Hongjing, analyze nearly 100 eyewitness accounts of UFO sightings collected across China. The report categorizes these sightings into three primary types: disk or globe-shaped objects, large long objects, and spiral nebula-shaped objects. Several specific case studies are detailed, including a November 1978 sighting by students at Wuhan University, a September 1976 sighting at a chemical plant in Jiangxi, and various sightings in 1979 involving technicians and factory workers. The authors note that prior to 1978, such reports were virtually unheard of in China, but have since become more frequent, involving credible witnesses such as scientists, pilots, and teachers. The report discusses the potential for explaining these sightings through known phenomena, such as meteorites, atmospheric electrical discharges, or man-made objects, while acknowledging that some sightings remain difficult to explain due to the objects' high-altitude mobility and unique characteristics. The authors emphasize that there have been no reports of 'flying saucer men' or physical peril to humans, and they call for continued scientific investigation into these phenomena without preconceptions, while remaining open to the possibility of extraterrestrial or unknown terrestrial origins for the more credible reports.