New immigration stamps highlight Taiwan image

Immigration officers will begin using new stamps at border checks on passports of people leaving and entering Taiwan from January 1, the Ministry of the Interior said in a statement on Saturday.

The replacement of the current stamps, which have been in use for eight years, is meant to avoid counterfeiting and to highlight Taiwan's image with a new design, according to the ministry, CNA reports.

The main changes in the new design include the removal of a plum blossom and the addition of the image of Taiwan Island, in which the letters TWN are printed to form the Central Mountain Range, the ministry said.

While the Chinese characters remain the same style written by modern calligrapher Tung Yang-tzu, the ministry said the image of Taiwan and the character meaning "border" in Chinese will cover part of the stamps' frame in the new design.

The frame-breaking new design symbolizes Taiwan's efforts in making diplomatic breakthroughs, according to the ministry, while on the entry stamp, an extra dot is added in the character "?" to show the government's hope for "a few" more visitors once the ongoing pandemic subsides.