The questions on future national examinations for civil servants will not reflect examiners' political ideology, nor will they be based on Hoklo, Hakka or Aboriginal languages, the Examination Yuan has decided.
\nQuestions will not discriminate on racial or sexual grounds, nor will they test on classical Chinese composition or literature.
\nThe Control Yuan yesterday ended a year-long controversy surrounding the national examinations for civil servants after the Examination Yuan pledged that future national examinations would be fair and steer clear of bias by following a "four noes" principle reflecting these points.
\nExaminers will also be advised to note the proportion of Taiwan-centered questions in national geography and history tests.
\nThe Examination Yuan's resolution was reached during a review meeting in September last year and was later approved in a plenary session.
\nThe changes came in response to a controversy over the use of Hoklo-language questions on Chinese literature tests and over the number of Taiwan-centered questions on history and geography tests in four national exams offered last year.
\nAlthough the passages in the tests were written in Chinese characters, they make sense only to speakers of Hoklo, more commonly known as Taiwanese.
\nThe questions prompted pan-blue lawmakers, most of whom are of mainland Chinese descent, to claim the exams were biased. The questions also angered the Hakka community, as their language is spoken by one-fifth of the population.
\nSeeking to placate the Hakka minority, the Examination Yuan adjusted one of the four national examinations by adding points to Hakka candidates' exam scores.
\nThe move came after a visit by former Council for Hakka Affairs Chairwoman Yeh Chu-lan (
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