A set of commemorative stamps for the inauguration of the new Taiwanese president and her deputy have attracted praise in the island-nation.
The stamps feature line drawing and pixelated versions of incoming president Tsai Ing-wen and vice-president-elect Chen Chien-jen. They will be issued on May 20, the date of their inauguration. Three million sets will go on sale.
“The aim is to reflect contemporary art and culture with a fresh new look,” Taiwan’s Chunghwa Post said. “The pixelated faces express the idea that heads of state are not only individuals, but also embodiments of the collective spirit and style of the nation.”
“Breaking new ground in design… the images fully demonstrate the ideas of beauty, emotional connection, diversity, abstraction and freedom,” the government postal service added.
Commenting on the stamps, Tsai said they were “designed like video games in the old days – retro and cute”.
She added that the people were “the key to Taiwan’s greatness” as their diversity was represented by the pixels and lines on the stamps.
Many Taiwanese people also welcomed the “ground-breaking” stamps.
On Tsai’s Facebook page, one wrote: “They are quite cute, maybe they represent the cuteness of Little Ing [Tsai], would this be the first time that I collect stamps?”
“Concept stamps with a fresh look, I like it,” another said.
The set of stamps were the first set of inauguration commemorative stamps which did not include the flag of the Republic of China.
Chunghwa Post vice-president Wang Shu-min told Taiwan’s Nownews that the flag was not used so as to match the design concept. The designers wished to avoid distorting the flag.
They were designed by Taiwanese designer Aaron Nieh. He thanked the Chunghwa Post’s openness and support for his concept and break from tradition. “Change is good,” he said.
