Propaganda and finger vein recognition: China’s 2018 college entrance exams

The gaokao (高考 gāokǎo) is a three-day college entrance test that covers literature, science, math, and English (see The China Project’s brief history of the exam). This year more than 9.75 million students are taking the test, according to Sixth Tone.

• Propaganda is big this year. Today’s morning test session was for Chinese language and literature and included an 800-character essay. Quartz reports: “Of the nine essay questions asked across the nation — there are some regional variations — five were directly related to propaganda terms put forward by the Chinese president.”
• Cheating on the gaokao already carries a penalty of up to seven years in jail, but Chinese authorities are instituting additional measures this year. Test centers in Inner Mongolia will use finger vein recognition (as opposed to fingerprint recognition) to verify test takers’ identities, according to the South China Morning Post. Metal detectors, facial recognition, and fingerprint recognition are expected to be commonplace around the country.