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.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS