Contest to redesign Taiwan passport

Passport covers aren’t always creative, but Taiwan’s New Power Party is trying to change that. The political party held a “We are Taiwan” Passport Cover Design Competition to rethink the country passport and the results are in.

The competition was a response to a recent resolution passed by the island’s parliament calling for a passport design that highlights Taiwan’s local character. Tawainese were encouraged to submit designs showcasing Taiwan’s unique characteristics, and a total of 127 entries were submitted.

Before the August 31 vote, entries were divided into two categories — The International Standards and Creative. Those submitting ideas for the International Standards category were a bit more constricted with their designs as they had to follow rules from the International Civil Aviation Organization, CNN reports.

The winning design under the first category features a green cover with an image of Taiwan’s shape, plum blossoms (the country’s official flower) and native animals like the Formosan black bear. The runner-up was a butterfly with wings in the shape of Taiwan. The second runner-up displays the shape of the island in colorful bubble-like patterns.

Photo: New Power Party

Entries in the Creative category were all over the map, many of which featured Taiwan’s iconic bubble tea beverage. The top three entries for this category also featured blossoms and endemic animals.

Photo: New Power Party

Currently, the Taiwanese passport bears the term “Republic of China” on its front cover, another name for Taiwan that some Taiwanese strongly reject.

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