Standardizing the use of maps is not wrong at all (Beautiful China)
Core Reading
A map is the most commonly used and important form of national territory, which concerns national sovereignty, security, and development interests. Standard maps are compiled based on the drawing standards of China and countries around the world. In recent years, relevant departments have increased the supply of standard maps, carried out national map awareness publicity and education activities, and provided authoritative, accurate and convenient public welfare map services to the public, reducing the emergence of "problem maps" from the source.
August 29th this year is the 20th National Surveying and Mapping Law Promotion Day. On the 28th, the main event of the 2023 Surveying and Mapping Law Promotion Day and National Map Awareness Promotion Week, with the theme of "No Mistake in Standardizing the Use of Maps", was held in Deqing County, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province. The event released the 2023 version of the standard map.
It is reported that the 2023 version of the standard map service includes a series of 380 scale standard maps, covering maps of China, the world, and thematic maps; There are a total of 1661 reference maps. The 2023 version of the standard map has been launched on the standard map service website sponsored by the Ministry of Natural Resources.
What is a standard map? How to obtain a standard map? In recent years, what new progress and achievements have been made in enhancing the awareness of national territory among the whole population?
Maps are the most commonly used and primary form of representation of national territory, which concerns national sovereignty, security, and development interests
Maps are graphics or images that represent the names, shapes, sizes, spatial locations and attributes of natural and socio-economic elements on paper, the Internet and other carriers, including paper maps, electronic maps, Internet maps, maps attached to various products and maps in other forms of expression.
In real life, many people are not unfamiliar with maps. Looking at navigation, ordering takeout, checking addresses... From production to daily life, from online to offline, all rely on maps. A map is not only a collection of geographical coordinates, a way to understand and express the world, but also provides people with various convenient services. According to data from the Ministry of Natural Resources, in the first half of this year, 29 key monitoring geographic information enterprises and institutions provided location services a total of 101.2 trillion times, with a daily average of 559.05 billion times, a year-on-year increase of 25.6%.
Maps are the most commonly used and primary form of representation of national territory, which concerns national sovereignty, security, and development interests. Maps have serious political significance, rigorous scientific rigor, and strict legality. The correct national territory is a symbol of national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Whether it is daily life or conducting external exchanges, it is of great significance to establish a national territorial awareness and use standardized maps.
The standard map is compiled based on the boundary drawing standards of China and various countries around the world. It can be used for news and publicity purposes, illustrations in books, magazines, newspapers, advertising display backgrounds, handicraft design base maps, etc. It can also be used as a reference base map for preparing public versions of maps. The general public can browse and download standard maps for free, and when using standard maps directly, the approval number needs to be marked. In recent years, the Ministry of Natural Resources has increased the supply of standard maps, providing authoritative, accurate and convenient public welfare map services for the public, and reducing the emergence of "problem maps" from the source.
At present, China has released 6 versions of standard maps, and 31 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, as well as the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, all provide online publishing paths and standard map services. Zhang Wenhui, Director of the Map Technology Review Center of the Ministry of Natural Resources, introduced that since its launch, the standard map service provided by the Ministry of Natural Resources has seen a total of over 12.58 million views, over 5.47 million downloads, and over 190000 registered users.
At present, users can browse and download standard maps for free through the official website of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the standard map service system of the National Geographic Information Public Service Platform "Tiantu", and create personalized maps online. Any editing or modification of the map content must be submitted to the natural resources regulatory department for review before public use. The map generated by self mapping needs to be submitted to the natural resource management department for review before it can be publicly used. In addition, legitimate map products with marked approval numbers can also be purchased, or maps can be customized to surveying and mapping units with map preparation qualifications.
Intensify regulatory efforts and incorporate map management into the track of legalization and standardization
During use, maps with issues such as incorrect delineation of national boundaries and omission of important islands in China often appear. Some maps contain content that is not suitable for public disclosure or even involves confidentiality, which damages national sovereignty, security, and interests. In recent years, the natural resources department has increased its regulatory efforts to investigate and handle maps published on various media platforms such as television, websites, newspapers, shops, and new media that do not comply with China's regulations and do not correctly express our territorial claims in accordance with the law and regulations.
In recent years, the legal system of surveying and mapping geographic information in China has been continuously improved, and map management has been incorporated into the track of rule of law and standardization. "By improving map management policies and regulations, we have successively released the" Specification for Public Map Content Representation "and" Regulations on the Scope of State Secrets in Surveying and Mapping Geographic Information Management Work ", formulated new map product review standards, and ensured orderly map application and management standards." Li Yongchun, Director of the Geographic Information Management Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources, introduced.
The recently issued Opinions of the Ministry of Natural Resources on Accelerating the Transformation and Upgrading of Surveying and Mapping Geographic Information Undertakings to Better Support High quality Development proposed that a multi-level collaborative linkage mechanism focusing on "inventory" and "credit" should be established to improve the ability of the Internet to quickly discover sensitive confidential geographic information and "problem maps" and lock evidence.
With the vigorous development of surveying and mapping geographic information cause and the acceleration of information technology in China, Internet maps have emerged and developed rapidly. The content and variety of maps are becoming increasingly rich, and their applications are becoming increasingly widespread. Wu Jianfeng, Deputy Director of the Geographic Information Management Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources, introduced that in the past five years, the natural resources regulatory department has provided map review and government services for a total of 63000 map applications, including more than 300 advanced assisted driving maps covering over 360 cities and over 1.1 million kilometers of roads.
Internet maps have the characteristics of fast propagation, wide coverage and large influence. The competent department of natural resources should promote development and security as a whole, actively support and standardize the development of new business forms of surveying and mapping geographic information, and standardize the management of basic maps of smart cars and Internet maps on the premise of keeping the bottom line of surveying and mapping geographic information security firmly in place.
On the 2023 Surveying and Mapping Law Publicity Day and the main event of National Territory Awareness Week, many enterprises signed the Internet enterprise proposal of "Standardizing the Use of Maps to Maintain Geographic Information Security". According to the introduction, according to the relevant regulations, if an Internet map service unit provides services such as geographical location positioning, geographic information uploading and labeling, and map database development to the public, it should obtain the corresponding surveying and mapping qualification certificate according to law, and should use maps that have been reviewed and approved according to law to strengthen the verification and proofreading of the new content of Internet maps. No unit or individual is allowed to upload and mark contents that are not allowed to be shown on the map according to relevant national regulations through the Internet.
The Ministry of Natural Resources has also launched the construction of the new generation geographic information public service platform "Tiantu" website, promoting the platform's transformation from a single geographic information service to a comprehensive geographic information service, and continuously improving its online geographic information public service capabilities. The Opinion proposes to support enterprises in utilizing surveying and mapping geographic information technology to develop new models of on-demand, proactive, and personalized services based on spatiotemporal big data, creating a smart and convenient living circle, enriching digital application scenarios such as shopping and consumption, home life, elderly care and childcare, and household services.
Continuously carrying out national territory awareness publicity and education activities, the public's awareness of national territory has significantly improved
"Prepare, start!" As the competition command sounded, more than ten children, accompanied by their parents, focused on holding onto the puzzle pieces and began the map puzzle competition. This is a scene from the recent Guizhou Province 2023 Surveying and Mapping Law Promotion Day and National Map Awareness Promotion Week event. The science and technology exhibition held at the same time showcased a series of achievements in surveying and mapping geographic information supporting high-quality economic development and serving social and people's livelihoods, with illustrations and text.
The promotion and education of national territory awareness is an important part of patriotic education. The Surveying and Mapping Law of the People's Republic of China and the Regulations on Map Management have made clear requirements for the promotion and education of national territorial awareness. Li Yongchun introduced that in recent years, the Ministry of Natural Resources, in conjunction with relevant departments, has continued to carry out the "Two Competitions and Three Advancements" campaign for national map awareness education: focusing on the Surveying and Mapping Law Promotion Day, the National Map Awareness Promotion Week has been carried out for five consecutive years; Organize national territorial knowledge competitions and children's hand drawn map competitions; Carry out national territory awareness promotion and education activities such as "entering schools, communities, and media" to significantly enhance the national territory awareness of the whole population.
"The Ministry of Natural Resources has held the Surveying and Mapping Law Propaganda Day and National Territory Awareness Week for five consecutive years. Through joint efforts, the public's awareness of the rule of law and national territory in surveying and mapping has significantly improved, and their awareness of using maps in a standardized manner and maintaining geographic information security has significantly increased. This has created a good environment for the development of surveying and mapping geographic information industry," said Wu Wenzhong, the chief planner of the Ministry of Natural Resources.