Taiwan is likely to open test centers in China as early as next year so that high school-aged children of Taiwanese businessmen can take the exams they need to get into a university back home, the principal of a Shanghai-based school said on Monday.
Speaking at a Lunar New Year’s party in Taipei organized by the Straits Exchange Foundation, Wang Jen-hung (王仁宏) of the Shanghai Taiwanese Children’s School said the Ministry of Education had given a positive response to the idea, which would save students the inconvenience of having to travel back to Taiwan for the tests.
Wang believed the centers could be opened in China by the winter of next year at the earliest, once the ministry resolves technical problems, including how to ship the test booklets to China without incident.
The exams, called the general scholastic ability tests, are the official exams used in Taiwan to assess high school graduates’ qualifications for gaining admission to a particular department in a college or university.
Taipei and Kaohsiung have extended an open invitation to Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki after Chinese authorities abruptly canceled her scheduled concert in Shanghai. Hamasaki, 47, had been slated to perform on Saturday before organizers pulled the show at the last minute, citing “force majeure,” a move widely viewed as retaliation for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could draw a military response from Tokyo. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday said the city “very much welcomes” Hamasaki’s return and would continue to “surprise” her. Hamasaki, who has a large global fan base, including
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