A collection of stamps commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Presidential Office Building was released by Chunghwa Post yesterday.
The collection has three stamps and one souvenir sheet that feature Taiwan’s government seat.
The company celebrated the new commemorative issue by holding an unveiling at the Presidential Office, which was attended by honored guests, including Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Chu (陳菊) and Chunghwa Post chairman Louis Wei (魏健宏).
Photo: CNA
Chen said that, as a veteran of the nation’s democracy movement, she has witnessed the building’s significance change at different stages.
“In the past, the building was a symbol of authority. My goal as a democracy advocate was to turn the Presidential Office Building into the people’s Presidential Office Building,” she said.
It was a distant dream at the time, Chen said, but added that she was glad to be a part of the long transformation that made it happen.
The building bears testimony of Taiwan’s history over the past 100 years and the stamp collection memorializes people’s courage and confidence in pursuing freedom and democracy, she said.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said that the structure has been called one of the world’s most beautiful government buildings, along with the White House, the Kremlin and the Elysee Palace.
Lin said that driving from his office to the Presidential Office Building was like driving on the stage of Taiwanese history, because he had protested outside and worked inside the building.
The building is accessible to people, he added.
The “higher authority” inside the Presidential Office Building is its tower, which made it Taipei’s tallest building during the Japanese colonial era, Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
The building survived the Japanese colonial era and the Martial Law era, and witnessed the transfer of power from an authoritarian regime to the people, he said.
Stamps featuring such a meaningful structure are a powerful reminder to politicians that their power comes from the people, he added.
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