By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
In response to what it called the government’s inaction over Beijing’s recent move to include Taiwan as part of its territory in its new passports, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday issued passport stickers as a countermeasure to highlight Taiwan’s sovereignty.
“We would like to let the international community know that Taiwan is not part of China,” DPP spokesperson Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) said.
China’s new passports, which Beijing began issuing in May, include Taiwan and the South China Sea as Chinese territory and sparked protests from countries which have territorial disputes with China, including Taiwan, Vietnam, India and the Philippines.
The Philippines decided not to stamp new Chinese passports, Vietnam stamps “canceled” on the passports and India affixes a visa to Chinese passports stating its own territorial claims.
Taiwan has not implemented any countermeasures, other than the Mainland Affairs Council issuing a verbal protest, saying that Beijing’s unilateral move would destabilize the region.
Disappointed at the Ma administration’s passivity and inaction, the DPP has ordered 10,000 stickers, which come in the same size as Taiwanese passports, with the slogan “Taiwan is my country” and a map highlighting Taiwan’s territory and its geographical position, Wang said.
Taiwanese could stick the stickers on their passports to assert Taiwan’s sovereignty as a protest against China, Wang said.
The stickers are to be distributed at the DPP’s local offices and the Bureau of Consular Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang said.
The ministry warned people over the use of the stickers in a press release issued yesterday evening, saying it would be a violation of current regulations and could cause trouble for tourists when clearing customs and entering foreign countries.