【明報專訊】THIS YEAR'S National Higher Education Entrance Examination, which is held annually in mainland China, drew to an end last Friday. Students who in enormous numbers have painstakingly persevered in their studies — not unlike millions of troops and warhorses competing to cross a single-plank bridge — are now awaiting their fate: Which university will they be admitted to? Or will they simply be forced to join the working population? Thanks to the rise in university places and increased social diversity, the Higher Education Examination is no longer the sole determinant of a person's future life. But it remains a hotly-debated issue whether the system and the way the examination is conducted have really been made fairer.