The Government Information Office (GIO) yesterday formally announced that it will ditch its decade-long emblem that features an image of China.
During a press conference yesterday afternoon, Director-General of the GIO Su Tzen-ping (蘇正平) introduced a new emblem featuring a bridge, symbolizing the GIO's role as a bridge between the government and the public.
Su dismissed charges by critics that the GIO's move to abandon the old emblem was indicative of the DPP-led government's pro-independence stance.
The existing GIO emblem, which featured an ROC national flag and a map of China, was first used in 1988 under the instruction of former GIO director-general Shaw Yu-ming (邵玉銘).
Shaw served as the KMT government spokesman from 1987 to 1991.
According to information provided by the GIO, many of Su's predecessors, including Jason Hu (胡志強), Su Chi (蘇起) and Chen Chien-jen (程健人), had looked into changing the emblem, but to no avail.
"If so many GIO chiefs have proposed changing the emblem but failed to do so, it shows that they were worried that others would criticize their reform from a political and ideological point of view, as people have criticized our reform," Su said.
Su said the move to abolish the emblem stemmed from pragmatic rather than political considerations as the existing emblem, which even included the map of outer Mongolia -- which declared independence in 1921 -- has caused confusion.
"The historical entanglement surrounding our country's territory can't be explained in a few words. And indeed some overseas visitors have asked us about why the emblem still includes outer Mongolia," Su said.
The choice of the new emblem was made by GIO employees, who were asked to vote for one of two designs chosen from an original field of 21 candidates, officials said.
Some critics have said the change of the GIO emblem is indicative of Taiwan's growing alienation of China as a result of attempts by former president Lee Teng-hui (
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