President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of November 17 at the Presidential Office with participants from Taiwan in various mathematics and science Olympiads around the world. The president congratulated the students on their outstanding performances, and commended their advisors for their hard work and sacrifice.
In remarks to the gathering, the president noted that delegations from Taiwan made trips from July to September of this year to Japan, Korea, Canada, and a host of other countries, where they participated in the Asia Pacific Mathematics Olympiad, Asian Physics Olympiad, International Mathematical Olympiad, International Physics Olympiad, International Chemistry Olympiad, International Biology Olympiad, International Olympiad in Informatics, and International Earth Science Olympiad. Taiwan teams won a total of 22 gold medals, 12 silvers, 9 bronzes, and 10 honorable mentions, he said. The president specifically mentioned that at the 41st International Physics Olympiad, which were held in Croatia and attracted teams from 82 nations, and the 22nd International Biology Olympiad in Korea, where 60 countries participated, all participants from Taiwan won gold medals, and the Taiwan teams ranked third in each of these events. Meanwhile, the team from Taiwan ranked first at the 4th International Earth Science Olympiad in Indonesia. The tremendous performance of the Taiwan teams points to the strong science education provided at the junior high school level, he added.
President Ma stressed that countries throughout the world place great emphasis on science education and Taiwan is no exception. The Ministry of Education, he said, has specially issued the Regulation Governing Academic Advancement Incentives for Students Who Compete and Perform Well in International Mathematics or Science Olympiads and International Science Fairs. The rules have been adopted to encourage students who win awards in the competitions to continue with research in the sciences.
The president mentioned that Taiwan ranked first at the iENA International Trade Fair in Nuremberg and the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva. Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum in its ranking of 133 economic entities in its Global Competitiveness Report ranked Taiwan sixth in the innovation subindex. Taiwan tops the world in its number of utility patents per million population, he said. Meanwhile, the number of patent applications from Taiwan filed in the United States ranks fourth (not including America), he said. These statistics also demonstrate Taiwan's strong foundation in many areas of R&D and innovation.
President Ma stated that Taiwan has limited natural resources, but is visited by frequent natural disasters. Taiwan's coal and gold mines have been depleted and we now must rely on brainpower. In this regard, he noted that renowned New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman, author of Hot, Flat, and Crowded, had high praise for the outstanding human resources of Taiwan. President Ma pointed out that we are able to make the most of Taiwan's human resources thanks to teachers who have been tirelessly assisting students to learn and study. Taiwan needs its teachers to continue to teach, and its students to continue to learn in order to remain successful and move forward, he said.
The delegations attending the various mathematics and science Olympiads were accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Minister of Education Wu Ching-ji to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was Deputy Secretary-General to the President Liu Bao-guey.