Bilingual text here: https://english.ftvnews.com.tw/news/2026723W03EA?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description
雙語文字版: https://english.ftvnews.com.tw/news/2026723W03EA?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description

Our official website: ➔ https://english.ftvnews.com.tw/

Follow us on
Facebook: ➔ https://www.facebook.com/ftvformosanews
X (Twitter): ➔ https://x.com/FTV_Taiwan_News
As people go abroad for summer vacation, they’ve noticed that the entry and exit stamps have different shapes. Turns out there’s a secret meaning behind it! The National Immigration Agency’s Border Affairs Corps explained that the exit stamp is round to symbolize complete and smooth travels, while the entry stamp is an octagon representing the bagua to ward of evil. The characters were written by renowned calligrapher Tong Yang-tze, whose tiny extra dot on the entry stamp also has a special meaning.

Travelers hold their passports, ready to go abroad on vacation. Most people won’t take a second look at what the immigration officer stamped inside. But if you look closely, you’ll find the entry and exit stamps are actually different shapes.

- I never really noticed it.

- I never really looked.

When the National Immigration Agency redesigned the stamp in 2012, they kept some elements the same, but they also invited renowned calligrapher Tong Yang-tze to write the characters.

The exit stamp is round to symbolize a perfect and complete journey, while the entry stamp is the octagonal bagua to represent warding off evil and bringing good fortune. If you look carefully at the character they both share, you’ll find that the calligrapher added an extra dot to the entry stamp.

Kang Ching-nien
Border Affairs Corp officer
I was a bit confused when I first noticed that the one character in the entry stamp has an extra dot. How could she have made a mistake? But as I thought about it, I realized the artist intended it as a wish to bring more travelers to Taiwan.

The second character in the entry stamp has an extra dot on the left side. It’s not a mistake. It represents a wish that more people will come and boost Taiwan’s tourism.

There’s so much to these stamps, and that’s not all. They are also a kind of anti-forgery measure.

Kang Ching-nien
Border Affairs Corp officer
Making a minor redesign also helps to prevent human trafficking syndicates from forging our stamps.

But as the automatic gates are getting more use, the stamps aren’t being used as often. The stamp that should be replaced every five years has now been in use for eight. The next time you go abroad, consider going through the manual inspection lane to see the stamp for yourself!

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#passportstamps #immigration #NIA #travel #passports #bagua #TongYangtze #calligraphy

#台灣新聞 #TaiwanNews #民視新聞 #FTV新聞 #Taiwan