Taiwan on Wednesday officially released its new passport design to be rolled out next year.
The new cover features “Taiwan” in a significantly larger typeface and does not include the English for “Republic of China.” Instead, the official English name can be seen wrapped around the Taiwanese emblem at the centre of the passport in considerably smaller letters. The Chinese for “Republic of China,” however, remains up top.
Spokesperson for Taiwan’s Executive Yuan Evian Ting said at a press conference on Wednesday that the move to diminish the word “China” on the cover was to “avoid confusion.” The need to distinguish Taiwan from mainland China was especially important in “sensitive times” such as the coronavirus pandemic, he said.
Last month, the New Power Party asked Taiwanese citizens to vote on their favourite passport cover designs in a competition called “We are Taiwan.” Some popular entries featured the island’s native animals while others included bubble tea, a popular Taiwanese drink.
The new passports will start to be rolled out in January 2021.
The Republic of China (ROC) government has ruled Taiwan since 1945 after Japan was defeated in World War II, ending 50 years of occupation. The ROC authorities fully retreated to the island in 1949 as the communist People’s Republic of China defeated them in the Civil War and took control of the mainland. Beijing has since claimed democratic Taiwan as one of its provinces, threatening to unify it by force if necessary.
See also: Explainer – Is Taiwan a country? The self-ruled island’s disputed status
