The Ministry of Examination last night did a U-turn on its plan to add the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) Constitution to some national civil servant exams, revising a press statement it released just hours earlier that said the plan was under consideration.
“As the public was divided over the plan following the release of the draft proposal, the ministry decided to accept the advice not to include the PRC Constitution in national civil service exams,” the ministry said in its second press statement.
Earlier yesterday afternoon, the ministry issued a press release saying the plan to add the PRC Constitution had yet to be finalized and that the ministry would adopt a cautious attitude in asking for input from various circles before making a final decision.
The ministry’s response came after a report in yesterday’s Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) that said that the proposal had raised eyebrows among people preparing to take national exams.
In the ministry’s first press release, it said the PRC Constitution was one of the four subjects it intended to include in the national civil servant exams for recruiting personnel whose functions are related to cross-strait affairs.
The other three subjects that could also be included are laws and regulations pertaining to cross-strait relations, international factors in cross-strait relations, as well as China’s Taiwan policy and cross-strait negotiations, the ministry said.
In the first release, the ministry explained the rationale for including the subjects, saying that many government agencies have complained to the ministry that personnel who are not acquainted with cross-strait laws and regulations have hindered their operations.
”In view of increasing cross-strait interaction, it’s necessary,” the ministry said.
The ministry scuttled the plan, but in its second press release said the other three subjects would be included.
Earlier yesterday, Minister of Examinations Yung Chaur-shin (楊朝祥) and the ministry’s secretary-general, Lin Shui-chi (林水吉), both dismissed the report.
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