The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will brief lawmakers today on the government's plan to print the word "Taiwan" in Roman script on passport covers, a sign the long-delayed plan will soon be implemented.
The panel discussion will include members from all parties of the legislature's Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee and representatives from legislative party caucuses, Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (
The minister will then brief the press about the conclusions of the closed-door meeting, which will be held at the ministry this afternoon, officials said.
According to the proposals, the word "Taiwan" in Roman script will be added above the national emblem printed on the passport cover, while the rest of the current design will remain the same, including the country's name, Republic of China (ROC), in English and Chinese, Chien said.
"This passport reform is a result of functional considerations rather than a move to rectify our national designation," Chien said.
The inclusion of the word "Taiwan" in Roman script will help distinguish ROC passports from PRC passports, Chien said.
Some Taiwanese have complained about being mistaken for travelers from China when using their ROC passports.
Chien said that more than half of the respondents to nine polls conducted by the ministry supported the move.
The passport reform has also won the "understanding" of the US, Chien said.
"The US government would not interfere with our internal affairs, and it is not a problem to win state-to-state understanding" on this issue, he said.
Chien said the ministry would use up the current stock of pass-ports without the word "Taiwan" before issuing the new ones.
High-ranking officials have reportedly said that they expect the first of the new passports to be issued by September.
The ministry has dropped its original idea of adding "Issued in Taiwan" to the cover of new passports after both opposition and DPP lawmakers rejected the idea.
The legislature has passed a pair of contradictory, non-binding resolutions on passport reform. The first states there should be no change to the passports, while the second stipulates that "Taiwan" in Roman script should be added to the cover.
KMT and PFP lawmakers yesterday expressed reserved support for the move.
"If the government really has no intention to change the title of the country, we will agree with the ministry's idea," said PFP Legislator Sun Ta-chian (
KMT Legislator Sun Kao-hua (
"We believe that the DPP will use the measure as a campaign issue to attack any political party who may oppose it," Sun said.
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