People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps twelve were chosen as astronaut candidates. The Astronaut Corps was established in January 1998 and the twelve along with two PLAAF trainees sent to Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in 1996 forms Chinese Group 1. Seven pilots entered the Astronaut Corps in May 2010 as the Group 2. In 2014, Group 1 astronauts Wu Jie, Li Qinglong, Chen Quan, Zhao Chuandong, and Pan Zhanchun retired from the Astronaut Corps due to age; none of them had flown in a mission. The Astronaut Corps was part of the General Armaments Department until GAD's disbandment in January 2016. As part of the
Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language government of China: Nicaragua and Paraguay. Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language The Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TOCFL) (formerly known as the TOP or Test Of Proficiency-Huayu )() is Taiwan's Mandarin Chinese test. It is administered by the Steering Committee for the Test Of Proficiency-Huayu (SC-TOP) (). The committee is under the direction of the Ministry of Education of R.O.C. The test cannot be taken in Mainland China, Hong Kong or Macao. In these three areas, only the HSK exam can be taken. Conversely, HSK is not available on Taiwan, Kinmen or any of the territories