Huang Wei-chieh from Kaohsiung Municipal Senior High School was the highest ranking Taiwan competitor in 12th place. The other gold winners were Liu Chun-ting and Pan Kung-you from Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School, and Li Cheng-yen from National Taichung First Senior High School.
“We are extremely proud of the hard work and achievements of our four contestants,” a Ministry of Education official said at the closing ceremony for the 10-day event. “They were coached by professors including Lin Wann-yin of National Taiwan University and Chang I-jy and Chen Kwun-min of National Taiwan Normal University.”
Lauding the students for displaying confidence and resilience beyond their years, the official said the triumph shows that Taiwan’s efforts at boosting science education are paying handsome dividends.
“It is important the government continues to help talented students grow and shine at the olympiad. This cultivates young chemistry stars and enhances the nation’s global profile.”
A total of 292 students from 79 countries and territories contested the olympiad this year, with 190 sharing 35 golds, 63 silvers and 92 bronzes.
Since debuting at the event in 1992, Taiwan topped the rankings in 1993, 1997, 2009 and 2013, collecting 42 golds, 42 silvers and 11 bronzes along the way. With the exception of 2011, the country has been a top-five finisher for the past decade.
One of the International Science Olympiads, IChO is an annual academic chemistry competition for high school students launched 46 years ago in Prague. (YHC-JSM)
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