Controversy after exam questions issued in China’s simplified characters

Controversy after exam questions issued in China’s simplified characters

2025-01-02

A university student in Kaohsiung was left with more questions than anticipated after being presented an exam paper written in simplified Chinese characters. The issue has caused much controversy online and offline, as simplified Chinese is China’s official script, in contrast with Taiwan’s traditional Chinese characters. And it turns out that it wasn’t just the exam questions. The student reports that the textbooks used in class were also written in simplified characters. Let’s hear more.

Voice of student
NKUST
Our teacher said that buying these textbooks would add some points to the final grade, but that it was optional. Buying them would be a plus, and they were listed on the syllabus.

Hsu Chih-chieh
Lawmaker (DPP)
We shouldn’t be seeing simplified characters on official documents and exams to prevent the blurring of our culture.

Hou Chih-yao
NKUST
The university respects the curriculum design decisions made by our faculty. We will advise them to opt for texts written in traditional characters.

The university later said that the professor had accidentally taken practice questions from Chinese text books and used them as exam questions. It added that the language or scripts used in university exams is not currently regulated by the Ministry of Education. As for the textbooks, it said that the simplified Chinese textbook was chosen out of necessity, as no traditional Chinese version was available for the course subject.

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高科大考卷出現"簡體字"惹議立委籲校方徹底檢討

2025-01-02

國立高雄科技大學有學生，把段考試卷PO上網，題目竟然是簡體字，引發統戰進入校園的爭議。系上學生透露，不只考卷出現簡體，教科書也是簡體書。

[[聲源:水產養殖系學生(經變音)]]
“他有講說買課本會加分，你可以買、可以不買，但有買有加分這樣子，在教學課綱上面有放課本的版本”

[[立委(民) 許智傑]]
“不該在官方文書、考卷內出現簡體字，避免類似文化認知的案例再發生”

[[高科大副主任秘書侯智耀]]
“本校也尊重教師課程的相關設計，也會宣導應該以正體中文為宜”

校方隨後回應，是老師一時不察，引用中國教科書的練習試題，當成考試卷，教育部並未針對大學出題限定語言版本，而這門學科，國內目前沒有繁體中文版教科書，兼任老師才會統整其他語言版本的教材資料，校方會針對外聘老師的授課和評量加強宣導。

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On New Year’s Day, the Eastern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army published on social media Weibo, an edited music video for Andy Lau’s song “Chinese People.” Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung on Thursday morning slammed the video as psychological warfare.

Lin Chia-lung
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Meanwhile, also on Thursday morning, Lin confirmed that the delegation of lawmakers led by Speaker Han Kuo-yu to attend US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony on Jan. 20 will now have two more members. That makes eight in total.

Lin Chia-lung
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Now, the KMT co-chair of the Legislative Yuan USA Caucus will join the delegation, alongside the DPP co-chair. The inclusion of lawmakers across the political spectrum displays Taiwan’s unity to promote relations with the US.

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Huang Kuo-chang
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The winners for the Chi Po-lin Foundation’s inaugural photography competition were announced on Dec. 27, which would’ve been the late director’s 60th birthday. The finalist is Liu Tzu-cheng. His winning photograph overlooks the coast of Taixi in Yunlin.

Liu Tzu-cheng
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In places like Mailiao in Yunlin, the air has a sour, agricultural and chemical smell. In the 21st century, in addition to protecting against sea breeze, I think windbreaks should also help places with human settlements and chemical production sites.

Chi Po-lin was a Taiwanese documentary filmmaker, photographer and environmentalist, best known for his film “Beyond Beauty Taiwan from Above.” The film won Best Documentary at the 2013 Golden Horse Awards. In his documentary, he shot stunning aerial footage of Taiwan while also raising awareness of the destruction of local ecosystems. Chi passed away in 2017 in a helicopter crash while he was taking aerial footage above Hualien for the sequel to his film. The Chi Po-lin Foundation was established in 2018 to carry on with Chi’s vision. The inaugural photography competition attracted 3,863 submissions. Chi’s son Chi Ting-huan said he hopes the competition can continue his father’s legacy and help find the next Chi Po-lin.

Chi Ting-huan
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We really hope that we can continue recording the land. My father had a habit of re-shooting places he had already photographed. We hope that this doesn’t end in 2017. Everyone can participate in recording the environment and preserve our impression of Taiwan’s landscape.

Chi Po-lin has dedicated the last 25 years of his life to aerial photography and captured magnificent photos and videos of Taiwan’s geography, landforms and ecological environment. Following the awards ceremony for the competition, all winning works as well as Chi’s are on display at the Chi Po Lin Museum until Jan. 24. The foundation plans to hold more photography competitions in 2025.

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It’s 7 a.m., and he’s already on duty. Donning a reflective vest and a flag in hand, he readily starts the day’s work. With his upbeat energy, it’s hard to tell that this traffic volunteer has already turned 100 years old this year.

Lo Mei-yu is affectionately known as “Grandpa Lo.” The primary schoolkids are obviously very fond of him. They’d even high-five him while crossing the street.

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Lo Mei-yu
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I discovered that my motivation is the smile on children’s faces, and the principal’s and parents’ association’s care toward them. I’m really touched. The secret is staying joyful and having no worries, and the smiles I get from kids every day. I’m really happy, really delighted.

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Cheng Chen-hung
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At the advanced age of 100, he’s still able to contribute to our school. I really think it’s a great blessing to the school.

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I’m so grateful for the volunteers and Grandpa Lo for what they do. Because they’re there to ensure road safety for the kids, we don’t have to worry. I hope that I can live to his age and hopefully emulate him.

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Member of public
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To try to combat the situation, the city’s Department of Transportation has installed 18 bird deterrent devices at the station.

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We’ve seen a certain amount of success already, but there are still some sporadic flocks of birds gathering. We will look into how to add to the number of deterrent devices. We haven’t ruled out putting up nets to deal with it.

Apart from installing more deterrents, the city is also urging the public to never feed the birds. That could increase the problem. It has even threatened to levy a maximum fine of NT$6,000 on people who feed the pigeons. Best not to risk it.

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