Taipei: Taiwanese students won four gold medals at the International Biology Olympiad and three golds and one silver at the International Chemistry Olympiad, ranking first and third, respectively, in gold medal tallies, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said Sunday.
According to Focus Taiwan, at the 37th International Biology Olympiad in Vilnius, Lithuania, Taiwan secured all four gold medals available to its team. Yao I-keng from Taipei Municipal Chien Kuo High School (CKHS) placed fourth individually. Chan Wei-chun, also of CKHS, placed fifth overall, while Chen Yu-chen of Taipei First Girls High School ranked 18th, and Hsu Ting-jui of Taichung Municipal Taichung First Senior High School (TCFSH) finished 19th. Taiwan's four-gold haul topped the medal table among 78 participating countries and 302 contestants. The awards ceremony was held Saturday, as per an MOE news release.
Taiwan's representative to Lithuania, Constance Wang, attended the ceremony and conveyed congratulations from President Lai Ching-te and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania said. Meanwhile, at the 58th International Chemistry Olympiad in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Taiwan won three gold medals and one silver, ranking third in the number of gold medals, according to a separate MOE news release. Gold medals were awarded to Fang I-chen from CKHS, Chang Chen-jui of Kaohsiung Municipal Kaohsiung Senior High School, and Fan I-yang from TCFSH, while Cheng Ping-hao of National Experimental High School at Hsinchu Science Park earned a silver medal.
The competition involved 363 students from 92 countries, according to the MOE. Under Ministry of Education (MOE) regulations, Taiwanese students who win gold, silver, or bronze medals at international academic Olympiads receive cash awards of NT$200,000 (US$6,169), NT$100,000, and NT$50,000, respectively, from the ministry. They are also eligible for direct admission to relevant university departments or recommendation-based admission to any academic program.