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Updated Wednesday, March 5, 2008 0:00 am TWN, By Michelle Hsu, Special to the China Post



	“The participation of the 24 countries will make the stamp exhibition very international,” said Taiwan Post Chairperson Ho Nuan-Hsuan. (Akie Ang, The China Post) Enlarge Photo

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International philatelists to gather at Taipei 2008 Stamp Exhibition

In addition to the section for display of stamp collections, the Organizing Committee has created another section for exhibitors to run booths to introduce postal-related products at the exhibition. Around 90 booths are registered for this year, including nine national pavilions run by participating countries--New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mongolia and the Philippines, as well as Wallis and Futuna Islands.

Patronage and support

“As organizer of the most important annual event for philatelists in Asia, we have seen enthusiastic patronage and participation of the FIAP member countries for this year’s stamp exhibition,” Ho observed. In arranging the Taipei 2008 Stamp Exhibition, Taiwan Post is joined by the Chinese Taipei Philatelic Federation (CTPF) and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the two other major co-organizers of this event.

According to Ho, the Organizing Committee, which is composed of members from FIAP member countries, has held numerous meetings prior to the exhibition, with two major ones participated in by FIAP President Surajit Gongvatana (from Thailand) and FIAP Senior Consultant Tay Peng Hian (from Singapore). “They especially arranged trips to join the preparatory meetings in Taiwan, and both will attend the exhibition as distinguished guests,” said Ho.

“Thanks to the patronage and support of FIAP members, preparatory work for the exhibition has gone very smoothly and successfully,” Ho stressed. For this exhibition, he added, “we have only six or seven months to prepare for it from the contract-signing at the Thailand 2007 Stamp Exhibition last August to the formal commencement in early March.”

Taiwan Post can successfully prepare for the big international event in such a short period of time partly thanks to its experience in arranging similar occasions before. In fact, as Ho noted, “it’s the third time for Taiwan Post to organize the international stamp exhibition.” Previously, it had held the 10th Asian International Stamp Exhibition in 1996 and the 18th Asian International Stamp Exhibition in 2005, in addition to the Asian International Invitation Stamp Exhibition in 1993.

Logo and spokeswoman

The theme of the stamp exhibition for this year is “Ecological Beauty of Taiwan,” under which Taiwan Post invites Chi Cheng, notably known as the “Flying Antelope” in Asia, to serve as spokesperson of the exhibition and uses the image of the Mikado Pheasant, a native species endemic to Taiwan, for the exhibition logo.

Chi, as the first Taiwanese to win a gold medal in the Olympic Games during the 1970s, has been devoted to athletics in Taiwan for several decades. She is now the chairperson of the Hope Foundation and CEO of the Kaohsiung Organizing Committee for the World Games 2009.

As the exhibition spokesperson, Chi invites everybody to visit the stamp exhibition. “Philately is a hobby suitable to every group of people. It doesn’t cost much, but creates a wonderful world of arts, customs, and development of human society,” she commented.

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