Taiwan launches new passport amid increasing tensions with China

Taiwan on Monday launched a new passport, removing its formal name 'Republic of China' from the top of the document in an effort to evade confusion among international officials. The original Taiwanese passport contains the text 'Republic of China' written in English font and Taiwan printed at the bottom, which according to the self-ruled island nation, confuses international immigration officials, who, on multiple occasions denied entry to its citizens amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic assuming they are Chinese nationals.  

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The new passport emboldens the word Taiwan in English font at the bottom of the document, which is the commonly used name for the Republic of China. At the same, it also keeps the formal name at the top of the booklet, but in the Mandarin font, and retains a small English font 'Republic of China' text around the country's emblem to evade confusion. 

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Tensions between China and Taiwan

Both, Taiwan and the People's Republic of China, also known as China, claim to be the real representative of the Chinese people. However, the United Nations and the rest of the world only recognise Beijing after a 1971 vote confirmed that PRC is the only lawful representatives of China to the global body. Since then, Taiwan has maintained close business and people-to-people ties with a lot of countries without any official diplomatic missions, including in mainland China.

Read: US Lifts Self-imposed Restrictions On Contacts With Taiwan

Taiwan has also gone on to become a truly democratic country in the eyes of many, especially at a time when Beijing is flexing its military might in the region and is threatening the sovereignty of its smaller neighbours, including Taipei. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and threatens to take the island nation by force. tensions between Taiwan and China has increased in the recent past, ever since Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen took over in 2016. 

Read: Pompeo Voids Restrictions On Diplomatic Contacts With Taiwan

(Image Credit: AP)