Ministry of Foreign Affairs starts issuing new ePassports

Speaking at an event marking the issuing of the first ten ePassports, Foreign Minister Francisco H. L. Ou said the new travel document aims at further streamlining custom procedures, preventing forgery and complying with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Eight million Taiwanese are poised to benefit from the new technology, which in the long run could give the government more leverage in negotiating for Taiwan's inclusion in visa free programs with the United States and other countries.

The most distinctive feature of an ePassport is its contactless chip embedded in the end cover that contains the bearer's biographical data and facial image.

The data cannot be altered once personalized, Ou pointed out. It can only be accessed when the ePassport is put within a few millimeters of machines especially designed to read the information.

“It is correct,” said Pai Shu-ching, 78, after checking the data in her ePassport on an electronic passport scanner installed for the occasion.

Pai was among the first ten fortunate Taiwanese who received their ePassports yesterday. The youngest passport holder was only 21 months hold.

The new passport application fee will remain at NT$1,200 for the first year of issuance, considering the recent inflation of prices and economic situation, according to MOFA's officials.

For more information on the ePassport and its application procedure, the MOFA has set up an “ePassport Web site”:

(http://www.epassport.com.tw/).

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