Taiwan has been actively promoting Chinese language education overseas in recent years and in 2023 the Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TOCFL), Taiwan's proficiency test for Chinese, attracted record-breaking participation of over 100,000 test takers across 47 countries.
The Steering Committee for the Test Of Proficiency-Huayu (SC-TOP), which developed the test, stated in a press release on Wednesday that the TOCFL is an essential part of Chinese language education and an important assessment tool for Taiwan’s recruitment of overseas students.
SC-TOP Executive Director Chen Po-hsi (陳柏熹) says that since the TOCFL program began in 2005 nearly 740,000 people have taken the test and that the number continues to grow. Chen adds that Vietnamese candidates form the largest group of test participants at 49%, followed by Indonesians at just over 12% and Japanese at almost 9%.
SC-TOP added that registration for the upcoming March exams in Taiwan remains open until February 15. Candidates registering for all three official exams, speaking, listening, and writing are eligible for a 20% discount on examination fees.