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Nation to host show for stamp lovers in March

Taiwan Post Co said yesterday that the nation will host the Asian International Stamp Exhibition in March next year.

This will be the third time for the nation to host the event, which it hosted in 1996 and 2005.

The exhibition, scheduled to take place between March 7 and 11 next year, will feature the 24 members of the Federation of Inter-Asian Philately (FIAP), a non-profit and non-political federation of 30 philatelic organizations across Asia, including Australia, Japan and South Korea.

More than 1,000 sets of stamp collections will be on display at the Taipei World Trade Center.

Taiwan Post has invited former Olympic medalist Chi Cheng (紀政) to be the official spokesperson for the event.

Also known as "the flying antelope," Chi was chosen because of her dedication to public affairs and her healthy image, the company said.

Chi told a press conference yesterday that she was grateful for the service that Taiwan Post provides. She recounted receiving a letter from her brother while she was training in the US. Enclosed in the letter was a small amount of dirt collected from her hometown in Hsinchu.

"And my brother wrote: I guess you must have missed the fragrance of our land,'" she said.

Teng Tien-lai (鄧添來), director of the Department of Posts and Telecommunications under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, said that FIAP gave Taiwan the right to host the international event because it "did a good job" two years ago.

The postal company said that the exhibition from Taiwan will feature its ecology, including some unique animal species.

The organizer has chosen the mikado pheasant (台灣帝雉), one of Taiwan's protected birds, as the logo for the event.

Participants will have the opportunity to view rarely seen stamp collections, Taiwan Post said. The Chinese Taipei Philatelic Federation, for example, will show the first set of commemorative stamps of China. The set was issued in 1894 to celebrate the 60th birthday of Empress Cixi (慈禧太后).

Taiwan Post started selling stamps featuring Chi Cheng at 43 post offices across the country. Each set costs NT$200. Profits generated from the sales will be donated to Chi's Hope Foundation to help raise its Walking Fund.
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