Changhua County coin and postage stamp producer Chen Chung-yuan (陳重源) on Sunday said the self-proclaimed Free Republic of Liberland has selected his designs for its official stamps, which are to go into circulation on Sunday.
Liberland, which is not recognized by the international community, was proclaimed independent by its president, Czech libertarian Vit Jedlicka, in April.
The presumptive micro-nation claims sovereignty over the Gornja Siga region on the west bank of the River Danube, a 7 km2 parcel of land that incorporates the disputed border between Serbia and Croatia.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hui, Taipei Times
Liberland announced that it would take Syrian refugees last month.
Chen, 29, is from Changhua County’s Dachu Township (大竹). He specializes in the design and production of individualized coinage. A graduate of National Shiou Shuei Senior Industrial High School, Chen said that he taught himself numismatics and philately, which are his personal and professional interests. He is also working on the design for Liberland’s national currency.
Chen made memorial coins for the Kuskus Shrine in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹), a Shinto temple commemorating the Kuskus Aboriginal people who fought on the Japanese side in World War II.
He first learned of Liberland after its announcement it would shelter Syrian refugees and he decided to contact the government via its official Web site and Facebook page, Chen said.
He submitted his designs to the Liberland government, because he believes it will help Taiwan to be remembered in Liberland history, and promote international awareness of Taiwan as an independent and sovereign country, he said, adding that he was “very surprised” that Jedlicka agreed to use his designs following a discussion of their concept and meaning.
On Wednesday last week, Liberland announced the six designs of its national postage stamps on its Web site, which include stamps featuring a portrait of Jedlicka, Liberland’s prominent views and landscapes and its national coat of arms.
Liberland is to print between 500 and 1,000 booklets of the stamps for commercial sale, the proceeds of which will be put into to a trust aimed at furthering the cause of the territory, according to the Liberland Web site.
Chen said he volunteered his designs without asking or receiving financial remuneration.
An interesting incident occurred during his collaboration with the territory when he discovered that the Liberland Web site’s registration page listed Taiwan as “Province of China,” he said.
He lodged a complaint with the secretary of Liberland’s department of foreign affairs. The secretary promised to delete the offending phrase as soon as his IT department was able, Chen said.
Liberland recognizes Chen as its future ambassador to Taiwan. It plans to implement a president-led system of direct democracy, with English and Czech as its two official languages, according to a draft of the Liberland constitution.
The national motto of Liberland is “Live and Let Live.”
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
RSS