Taiwan redesigns passports, highlights its name

Taiwan redesigns its passport to give more prominence to the island's name and to avoid confusion with China

: Taipei has encountered, among other things, problems for its citizens when entering other countries, as Taiwanese passports now have the words "Republic of China", the formal name, at large and at the top, with "Taiwan" printed at the bottom.

The new passport, which should go into circulation in January, will remove the word "Republic of China" while remaining the one in Chinese characters, but enlarging the name "Taiwan".

Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said the new documents are necessary to prevent the island's citizens from being mistaken for those of mainland China, especially in the intensified entry controls in many countries.

"Since the beginning of the pneumonia epidemic detected in Wuhan, our people have continued to hope that we could give more prominence to Taiwan's visibility, preventing people from mistakenly thinking that they came from China," Wu said in the report. local media.

Beijing sees Taiwan as an inalienable part of its territory destined for reunification even by force, if necessary, and claims the right of international representation according to the 'One China' principle, as it did during the Covid-19 crisis, starting with the WHO .