After years of attempting to inspire more of the nation's youngsters to join the social science professions, the National Science Council (NSC) yesterday announced encouraging results after graduating 1,400 elite students from the council's High School Humanities and Social Sciences Summer Camp.
The annual camp was set up in 2000 by a former director of the NSC's department of humanities and social sciences, Cyrus Chu (朱敬一), camp director Chen Tung-sheng (陳東升) said.
Chen, who is a sociology professor at National Taiwan University, said Chu noticed that while the nation had been investing in producing scientists since 1983 with annual physics, mathematics and life science camps, such opportunities did not exist for those interested in the social sciences, and that those students ought to be offered similar opportunities to excel in their chosen fields.
Since its establishment the camp has attracted more than 1,000 high school students each year from the 318 high schools nationwide, Chen said. The application process sifts out only the top 200 students, with a female to male ratio of 7:3.
The students attend two intense two-week summer programs. The first is between their first and second years at high school, which gives them a "taste" of the eight subjects -- psychology, political science, spatial research, philosophy, economics, sociology, anthropology and history.
The second course is in the summer before the students attend college, where students select two of the subjects and attend classes and discussion seminars instructed by renowned academics, from 9am to 9:30pm daily.
"In the beginning the students cringed at the rigorous curriculum, but after two weeks many yearned for more," Chen said.
2001 participant Hsu Wan-ting (許宛婷) said the camp "changed her way of thinking."
"I've always wanted to follow in the footsteps of my favorite author Hou Wen-yung (侯文詠), who is a doctor-writer," the pharmacy senior at Taipei Medical University said. "I couldn't sleep most nights during the two weeks, thinking about the new things I was exposed to -- scientists should reinvent themselves and instill elements of the humanities in their specialized fields."
Among the 2005 summer camp participants, 65 percent said it improved their critical thinking skills and 100 percent said they would recommend the program to younger students, Chen said.
"In addition, 31 percent of the participants who are now college seniors said they would apply for jobs in academic research, while 60 percent said the camp influenced their career choices," he said.
The success of the camp has also led to the establishment of specialized classes for the social sciences at three of Taipei's elite high schools -- Taipei First Girls' High School, Chienkuo High School and Zhongshan Girls' High School -- "which indicated a change in society's perception of the importance of the fields," Chen said.
Quoting philosopher Hu Shi (胡適), Chen said: "To reap the sort of harvest you desire you must first cultivate your crops accordingly. Talent development sees no shortcuts; the council hopes that activities such as these will continue to bring more bright youngsters into the social sciences."
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as