All six Taiwanese participants in the 20th International Junior Science Olympiad, which was held in Thailand and ended yesterday, won gold medals, which put Taiwan in first place at the competition.
A total of 304 students from 54 countries and regions participated in the olympiad this year, with Taiwan sending two students each from three different junior-high schools. The Taiwanese team included Wu Ssu-chien (吳思謙) and Yan Tzu-chiao (顏子喬) from Taipei Municipal Chien Kuo High School; Chan Wei-chun (詹緯濬) and Lai Ching-yu (賴敬宇) from Taipei Municipal Dunhua Junior High School, and Hung Ching-cheng (洪靖承) and Su Cheng-hsuan (蘇程玹) from Tainan Municipal Jian Sing Junior High School.
Yan also scored highest overall among all participants in the competition.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Education
Commenting on the win, Yan said he was driven by his interest in science, and said that personal interest in the subject was key to his success. Reading instructions carefully and not rushing is also very important, he said.
The members of Taiwan’s team were chosen by a selection committee and coached by National Taiwan Normal University professors Lu Chia-jung (呂家榮), Lu Kuo-tung (呂國棟), Chang Yung-ta (張永達) and Fu Tzu-yi (傅祖怡), and assistant professor Liu Yi-hsin (劉沂欣). The team flew to Bangkok for the competition on Nov. 30, and returned on Wednesday.
The six students would each receive a recommendation for entrance to a top high school or junior college, as well as receiving a NT$200,000 scholarship, Ministry of Education official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said.
Taiwan has participated in the Olympiad every year it was held since 2004, and to date has won 97 gold medals, 17 silver medals and two special awards for individual student experiments. It has also won two gold medals, one silver medal and two bronze medals for group experiments, 12 best theory awards, nine highest total score awards and has been ranked as the top country or region in the competition 12 times.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
Chinese embassy staffers attempted to interrupt an award ceremony of an international tea competition in France when the organizer introduced Taiwan and displayed the Republic of China flag, a Taiwanese tea farmer said in an interview published today. Hsieh Chung-lin (謝忠霖), chief executive of Juxin Tea Factory from Taichung's Lishan (梨山) area, on Dec. 2 attended the Teas of the World International Contest held at the Peruvian embassy in Paris. Hsieh was awarded a special prize for his Huagang Snow Source Tea by the nonprofit Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products (AVPA). During the ceremony, two Chinese embassy staffers in attendance
RSS