Taiwan passport competition attracts bubble tea, black bear and braised pork rice designs

Artwork aims at shining a light on country’s local features

Two of the top entries for the Taiwanese passport competition (New Power Party)

Bubble tea, Formosan black bears and braised pork rice all featured among the designs submitted for a passport competition in Taiwan.

The “We are Taiwan” Passport Cover Design Competition was launched by Taiwan’s New Power Party to find new cover ideas that celebrate the country’s local culture.

Introduced in response to a resolution passed by Taiwan’s parliament calling for a passport that would promote the island’s unique characteristics, the competition invited two entry types: the International Standards Category and the Creative Category.

Those entering the International Standards Category had to comply with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regulations for passport covers, while Creative entries could ignore these rules.

Some 127 entries were submitted in total, with thousands of votes cast by Taiwanese people for their favourites before the 31 August deadline.

“During the early stage of the Covid-19 outbreak, especially, because of the serious situation in China ... many Taiwan citizens were challenged when travelling overseas – some were even refused entry,” Jerry Liu, director of media and creativity for the New Power Party, told CNN Travel.

“That’s why we think we should increase recognition of Taiwan on our passport.”

The current Taiwanese passport has “Republic of China” stamped across the top in Chinese and English, with “Taiwan” is printed across the centre of the travel document.

The winning entry in the International Standards Category features an emblem with the endemic Formosan sika deer, the indigenous Formosan black bear and a plum blossom, Taiwan’s national flower, all on a dark green background.

The top two Creative entries (New Power Party)

Second place had a simple butterfly with wings in the shape of Taiwan on a charcoal cover, while third place went to a black cover with coloured dots forming the shape of the island nation.

In the Creative category, entries were a little more avant-garde – with notable examples featuring a cat in a captain's hat and a giant bubble tea interpretation – but the finalists were all fairly pared back designs.

The winner was a simple purple cover emblazoned with a number of plum blossoms; second place was awarded to a green cover with interlocking pictures of animals native to Taiwan; and third place went to a white cover with a branch flowering with more plum blossoms.

Many of the Creative entries paid homage to bubble tea (New Power Party)

The New Power Party said it plans to present the winning designs to the Bureau of Consular Affairs, the governing body for issuing passports.

While the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, the former still considers the latter a key part of its territory.