Chunghwa Post will launch a second edition of its National Flower Postage Stamps on Double Ten National Day.
Chunghwa said it decided to publish the stamps again in observance of the Republic of China’s centennial. The first edition of the stamps was printed in 1979.
Chunghwa Post spokeswoman Chen Shu-jen (陳淑貞) said the stamps were produced using a combination of lithography and engraving methods. Lithography was used to print the two plum blossoms in full bloom on the right side of the stamp, as well as the golden frames of the graphic, while the golden plum blossoms on the left side, the branches and the postage were engraved, Chen said.
Chen said the postage on the stamp was NT$100 and that both the number “100” and the Chinese characters for it would be printed using discoloration ink, an anti-counterfeit technique commonly used to print banknotes.
The Central Engraving and Printing Plant, which is in charge of printing banknotes, postage stamps and other important government documents, had conducted many experiments before it succeeded in combining the two lithography and engraving, Chen said.
“The plant had to overcome some technical difficulties, which is why the cost of printing was so high,” Chen said. “We hope stamp collectors will love them.”
Each set contains two National Flower Stamps, Chen said, and will be available for purchase on Oct. 10 at 32 post offices nationwide from 8am to 12pm.
The Postal Museum, at the intersection of Chungching South Road and Nanahai Rd in Taipei, will be open from 9am to 5pm on Double Ten National Day as well.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition