Taiwanese students won two gold, three silver and two bronze medals as well as an honorable mention in the just-concluded 2008 Asian Physics Olympiad, an official of the Ministry of Education said yesterday.
A total of 136 students from 18 countries participated in the event held between April 20 and yesterday in Ulan Bator, Mongolia.
Taiwan sent eight senior high school students to the competition.
The two gold medalists were Ho Ying-you (何應佑), a student at the National Experimental High School at the Science-based Industrial Park in Hsinchu, and Chu Po-yu (朱柏聿) from Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School.
Ho, who excels in chemistry, physics and computer program design, also won a gold medal in the International Chemistry Olympiad last year.
He said he hoped to pursue advanced studies at prominent international universities abroad after obtaining a bachelor’s degree at home.
He promised to dedicate himself to the study of basic science and to contribute to the nation’s scientific development.
Chu, who earned the bronze medal in last year’s Asian Physics Olympiad, now studies in Jianguo High School’s elite class.
Chu is also a cofounder of the school’s institute of robot study.
A ministry official said that Taiwan had won 22 gold, 19 silver and 17 bronze medals — as well as six honorary mentions — since the annual competition was first held in Indonesia in 2000.
The eight Taiwanese in this year’s competition will head to Beijing and Xian, China, for educational exchanges after leaving Mongolia tomorrow.
They are scheduled to return home on Saturday.
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
RSS