Postage stamps and postal history of Taiwan
Encyclopedia
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history
of The Republic of China
, otherwise known as Formosa or Taiwan.
The Republic of China comprises the islands of Taiwan
, Penghu, Kinmen
, Matsu
, and other minor islands, which are located off the east coast of mainland China
. Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China
(PRC) to the west, Japan
to the north-east, and the Philippines
to the south.
, which issued its own stamps.
ed with "Chinese Republic" and "Province Taiwan" and went on sale 4 November. Two Japanese stamps, the 5-yen and 10-yen values of the 1937 pictorial series, were also overprinted, serving as the high values.
Throughout 1946, stocks of Chinese stamps were overprinted with new values in sen and "for use in Taiwan only". This was followed by an issue in March 1947 marking Chang Kai-shek's 60th birthday; four small characters in the background say "for Taiwan only". Subsequent stamp issues followed the same pattern through 1948.
The Ju Guang Lou tower on Kinmen
was featured on several of the definitive series of the 1960s.
Postal history
Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of postage stamps and covers and associated material illustrating historical episodes of postal systems...
of The Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
, otherwise known as Formosa or Taiwan.
The Republic of China comprises the islands of Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Penghu, Kinmen
Kinmen
Kinmen , also known as Quemoy , is a small archipelago of several islands administered by the Republic of China : Greater Kinmen, Lesser Kinmen, and some islets. Administratively, it is Kinmen County of Fujian Province, ROC. The county is claimed by the People's Republic of China as part of its...
, Matsu
Matsu Islands
The Matsu Islands are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County , Fujian Province of the Republic of China . Only a small area of what is historically Lienchiang County is under the control of the ROC...
, and other minor islands, which are located off the east coast of mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
. Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
(PRC) to the west, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to the north-east, and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
to the south.
First stamps
In 1886 Taiwan was upgraded from a prefecture to a full province of China. A postal service was organised by the Governor, Liu Mingchuan, and postage stamps were issued the same year.Republic of Formosa
In 1895 China ceded Taiwan to Japan. The Taiwanese reacted by establishing the short-lived Republic of FormosaRepublic of Formosa
The Republic of Formosa was a short-lived republic that existed on the island of Taiwan in 1895 between the formal cession of Taiwan by the Qing Dynasty of China to the Empire of Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki and its invasion and occupation by Japanese troops...
, which issued its own stamps.
Japanese rule
Under Japanese rule, Taiwanese mail was handled as part of the Japanese postal system. After the surrender of Japan in August 1945, the postal system continued to operate locally, and on 21 October 1945, it issued 3-sen and 5-sen stamps, the design consisting of a large numeral and the imperial chrysanthemum. Despite the official transfer of Taiwan to China on 25 October, on the 31st a 10-sen stamp of the same design was issued. (An additional five values were printed but never issued.)Republic of China Taiwanese issues
The locally-printed stamps, both issued and unissued, were immediately overprintOverprint
An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage stamp or banknote after it has been printed. Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative purposes such as accounting but they are also employed in public mail...
ed with "Chinese Republic" and "Province Taiwan" and went on sale 4 November. Two Japanese stamps, the 5-yen and 10-yen values of the 1937 pictorial series, were also overprinted, serving as the high values.
Throughout 1946, stocks of Chinese stamps were overprinted with new values in sen and "for use in Taiwan only". This was followed by an issue in March 1947 marking Chang Kai-shek's 60th birthday; four small characters in the background say "for Taiwan only". Subsequent stamp issues followed the same pattern through 1948.
Republic of China
With the loss of mainland China, there was no longer any purpose in separate issues for Taiwan.The Ju Guang Lou tower on Kinmen
Kinmen
Kinmen , also known as Quemoy , is a small archipelago of several islands administered by the Republic of China : Greater Kinmen, Lesser Kinmen, and some islets. Administratively, it is Kinmen County of Fujian Province, ROC. The county is claimed by the People's Republic of China as part of its...
was featured on several of the definitive series of the 1960s.
See also
- China Philatelic Society of LondonChina Philatelic Society of LondonThe China Philatelic Society of London is a philatelic organisation devoted to the study of all aspects of Chinese philately from the Municipal Posts of the Treaty Ports to the People's Republic and Taiwan.-Origins:...
- China Stamp SocietyChina Stamp SocietyThe China Stamp Society is a philatelic organization dedicated to the appreciation of the postage stamps and postal history of China, including the Treaty Ports, Foreign Offices in China, the Japanese Occupation, Hong Kong, Macao, Manchukuo and Tibet....
- Chunghwa PostChunghwa PostThe Chunghwa Post Co., Ltd. , formerly Taiwan Post Co. , is the official postal service of the Republic of China , providing mail service for Taiwan Area of the Republic of China. It also provides a savings account service...
- Postage stamps and postal history of ChinaPostage stamps and postal history of ChinaThe history of the postage stamps and postal history of China is complicated by the gradual decay of Imperial China and the years of civil war and Japanese occupation in the 1930s and 1940s.- Imperial China :...
- Sun Yat-sen stampsSun Yat-sen stampsNumerous Chinese stamps depict Sun Yat-sen, and a representative collection can be acquired with little trouble. These may conveniently be divided as the definitives, provincial issues, overprints, and commemoratives, but there is much crossover between these categories.-Definitives:The material...