National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam.
People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.”
Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments.
Photo: Screen grab from Threads
NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see the exam before it was given to students and that all exams would use traditional characters.
The usual professor is on leave and a part-time instructor accidentally included simplified Chinese while preparing the exam using external materials, it said.
Regarding the textbook, there is no traditional Chinese version of it, so the instructor used versions written in simplified Chinese and English, it said, adding that the English-language material was not used in the exam.
As it was a translation course, the instructor was allowed to use content in simplified Chinese as a reference and as practice for the students, it said.
The use of traditional Chinese characters is strongly encouraged, NKUST said.
While the Ministry of Education does not mandate the use of traditional Chinese characters, it would bolster guidelines for instructors and continue promoting traditional characters, it added.
The business card bearing the words “Taiwan Province, China” was a personal card of a professor and was not issued by the university, it said.
Kaohsiung City Councilor Chang Po-yang (張博洋) said that the government should do a nationwide inspection of professors to uncover Chinese Communist Party agents in higher education.
Infiltrating the education system is part of China’s “united front” efforts, Chang said, adding that the government would uncover a “mountain” of evidence if it looked into the situation.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS