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New ID will feature the English word `Taiwan' as a measure against forgery

Cabinet spokesman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said that the new national identification card with "Taiwan" (in English)on it had nothing to do with the so-called "name rectification" movement.

"President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has said that the Republic of China (ROC) represents Taiwan, so there is nothing wrong with having the word "Taiwan" on the upcoming new ID card," Cho told reporters at a press conference yesterday.

Deputy Minister of the Interior Chien Tai-lang (簡太郎) yesterday said that a figure of a plum blossom on the existing ID card will be replaced with an image that has the outline of Taiwan on it, and Taiwan's new ID will print the word "Taiwan" as a forgery-proof feature.

The plum blossom is the national flower of the ROC, as named by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in its China period before 1949.

A Chinese-language newspaper, the United Daily, yesterday argued that the word "Taiwan" on the new ID card would be part of the government's attempt to rectify the countries' title.

Step by step

The paper said the printing of the word "Taiwan" on passport covers in 2002, and the plan to print "Taiwan" on the new ID version was obviously the government's goal to change the countries' title step by step.

The paper said some officials of the ministry had opposed the use of the word "Taiwan" on the new ID card for its "sensitivity," but the ministry finally decided to use it.

The paper said the measure would spark some controversy domestically.

Cho said that using "Taiwan" on the new ID card has nothing to do with a change of Taiwan's status quo and the so-called "Taiwan name rectification movement."

He said President Chen had said ROC could represent the nation's sovereignty, so the country had no need or plan to change its title.

Forgery-proof

Chien yesterday responded to the paper's criticism by saying "We all live in Taiwan, and there is nothing wrong with printing "Taiwan" on the new ID card."

The Ministry of the Interior had announced its intention of replacing the existing national identification cards with a new forgery-proof version from July 1 until June 30, 2006.

The ministry said the front of the new ID card will have a photo of the cardholder, his or her name, ID number and date of birth.

On the back of the new identification card will be the names of the cardholder's parents, spouse, place of birth, place of residence and type of military classification, as well as a column for notes relating to important personal information that is not contained in the other categories.
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