Taipei, July 12 (CNA) Taiwan took four gold medals Saturday at the 2014 International Biology Olympiad (IBO) in Bali, Indonesia, regaining the championship for the first time in 13 years, the Ministry of Education said. The team comprises Hsu Li-tien of National Taichung First Senior High School, Chang Jo-yu and Hsu Ken-chang of Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School, and Yao Chun-chen of National Wu-Ling Senior High School. In the individual category, Hsu registered the best performance, ranking No.2 in the world, the ministry said. Hsu has shown a strong interest in biology since childhood, visiting the National Museum of Natural Science and asking questions, his mother said. He did not enter the formal education system until junior high school, his mother said, explaining that she decided to homeschool him so he could explore his interests. The IBO is a competition for high school students who are winners of their respective National Biology Olympiad. Taiwan last won the IBO in 2001.
This year, 65 countries are participating in the July 5- 13 competition. (By Hsu Chi-wei and Lee Hsin-Yin)