Taipei, Jan. 14 (CNA) The Presidential Office issued a press statement Monday defending the government's plan to add the phrase "issued in Taiwan" in English on the cover of a new version of the Republic of China passport to be issued in November.
The Department of Public Affairs said that the plan is a reasonable, circumspect and pragmatic reform and has nothing to do with the issue of changing the ROC's national title as some people had alleged.
Noting that the measure is mainly aimed at better distinguishing ROC passports from mainland Chinese passports, the statement said the plan should not be politicized.
When ROC citizens travel abroad, they are often mistaken for mainland Chinese nationals because immigration officials and airline staff sometimes cannot easily distinguish ROC passports from the ones issued by the "People's Republic of China," mainland China's official title. The confusion sometimes means that ROC nationals receive unreasonable treatment at the hands of immigration officials.
The Cabinet and MOFA have spent much time studying ways to make ROC passports more distinguishable from mainland passports and to make them harder to counterfeit. "The Cabinet and MOFA finalized the reform plan only after a comprehensive study of opinions and proposals presented by various social quarters." The new measure is expected to better protect national dignity and the rights and convenience of ROC nationals traveling overseas.
As neither the ROC's Chinese nor its English national titles appearing on the cover of new ROC passports will be subject to any changes, the planned addition of "issued in Taiwan" in English will only signify the fact that the passports originate in Taiwan.
President Chen has directed the Cabinet and MOFA to finalize the new passport issue plan in line with due administrative procedure as soon as possible.