Taiwan will offer a Mandarin version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam by next summer, according to the Ministry of Education. Foreign students and overseas Taiwanese-Chinese applying to study in universities will be required to take the new test, and will have to take Mandarin lessons to supplement their studies if they don't pass it.
The Chinese Proficiency Test, developed by National Taiwan Normal University, has had a number of trial runs over the last few days, but it will not to be implemented officially until next June at the earliest.
Every year, almost 10,000 foreign students come to Taiwan to study Chinese, and 3,000 overseas Taiwanese or overseas Chinese arrive to enter universities.
The government provides scholarships to support many of these students, and it hopes to attract 12,000 foreign students to study in degree courses in universities over the next five years.
The study of traditional Chinese characters, as opposed to the simplified characters used in China, will be a requirement.
China has offered a languange- proficiency test, known as the Hanyu Kaoshi (Chinese Standard Test), since 1998. The test is used in more than 30 countries, and is considered an important tool for testing the language-capability of people wishing to enter foreign relations. It uses simplified characters.
Taiwan's own proficiency test, many years in development, is therefore well overdue.
According to Chang Chin-sheng (
Liu Teh-sheng (劉德勝), chairman of the Committee on Overseas Chinese Education said that passing the test will be among the entrance requirements for overseas Chinese wishing to study here.
The test will be conducted in June and December next year, and four times a year in subsequent years. It will be offered in 10 locations around the nation, but there are also plans to hold the examinations in other countries.
Chinese Proficiency Test Levels
Language ability listening/reading comprehension
Elemenatry
Level 1
Can you understand simple instructions and basic dialogues
Level 2
Can you understand the main points of topic and read ads, posters, etc
Intermediate
Level 3
Can you understand general conversation and short texts
Level 4
Can pick up the main points of a discussion and understand longer texts
Advanced
Level 5
Can discuss specialist subjects and understand simple classical Chinese texts and proverbs
Level 6
Can expound upon and discuss topics and understand news reports at native speed
Level 7
Native speaker fluency
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from