The new edition of Taiwan's International Driving Permit to be launched on July 1 will have "TAIWAN" on the cover, to make it easier to identify that the document is issued by Taiwan, an official said Tuesday.
The new cover retains "Republic of China," the official name of Taiwan, at the top, with "TAIWAN" in English capital letters printed above "International Driving Permit," as shown at a press conference.
The change is intended to protect the rights of the country's citizens to drive abroad, Lin Yi-sheng (???), head of the Motor Vehicles Division of the Directorate General of Highways at the Ministry of Transportation and Communication (MOTC), told the press conference.
The decision came after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers earlier this month voiced concerns that the existing edition is "easily mistaken" for a document issued by the "People's Republic of China."
Some people have complained that the International Driving Permit which features "Republic of China" in both Chinese characters and English letters is often confused with "People's Republic of China," DPP Legislator Michelle Lin (???) said on May 7.
Lin and two other DPP lawmakers demanded that the MOTC introduce a new cover for the International Driving Permit that follows the example of the ROC passport, the cover of which was altered in 2003 with the addition of "TAIWAN."
The International Driving Permit issued by Taiwan is recognized by 48 states in the United States, 13 provinces in Canada, and 34 other countries and regions on a reciprocal basis, according to the Directorate General of Highways.
An average of 160,000 people applied for the International Driving Permit annually from 2017 to 2019, with the number dropping to around 30,000 since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel