Taiwanese students won two gold and two silver medals at the International Biology Olympiad 2009 that concluded in Japan on Saturday.
Lee Yi-chun (李易駿) from National Changhua Senior High School and Kuo Yu-chi (郭育奇) from Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School each won a gold, while Wu Po-fan (吳柏帆) from Taipei Municipal Chenggong High School and Chang Jui-che (張睿哲) from National Taichung First Senior High School each took a silver.
Among the 221 students from 56 countries who took part in the contest, 23 won gold medals, 46 won silvers and 66 took bronzes.
Lee, who will be entering university soon, attributed his success in the contest to the training he received in special biology programs in his first two years in senior high school.
Kuo, who is about to go into his junior year, said his interest in biology was sparked by his exposure to a molecular biology class in his first year.
He said he was pleased with his performance in the competition, not to mention the opportunity to make contact with foreign students with similar interests.
One of the second-place winners, Wu, who has already been accepted to National Taiwan University, said he has been interested in nature, especially animals, since he was a young child.
The other silver medalist, Chang, a junior, said he has been taking advanced science and mathematics classes at school and has a special interest in biology.
The competition began on July 12 and each contestant was tested in practical and theoretical areas in seven different categories.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by