Taiwan is set to begin issuing passports with a new design on January 11.
The cover of the new passport is designed to make the word “Taiwan” more prominent. The new cover has also been designed to minimize possible confusion between Taiwanese and Chinese passports: on the new passport cover, the country’s official English name, “The Republic of China” to small text inconspicuously circling the national emblem.
The foreign ministry says that it has already prepared 500,000 of the new passports for citizens interested in applying for them. The foreign ministry also says it has instructed Taiwan’s representative offices abroad to inform foreign governments, airports, ports, foreign immigration bureaus, the International Air Transport Association, and airlines of the new design.