Lo Yu-chung, director-general of MOFA's Bureau of Consular Affairs, said the new measure will enhance the passport's international credibility and put MOFA in a better position to negotiate visa-free entry for ROC nationals traveling to the United States and Europe since such privilege is granted only to holders of biometric passports.
Foreign Minister Francisco Ou said at the news conference that the new travel document complies with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization, and will bring Taiwan more in line with the global trend of issuing electronic passports which are believed would speed up the verification procedures.
The e-passport is part of a project set up by MOFA's Bureau of Consular Affairs under the new National Identity System developed by Hewlett-Packard Co. to better protect sensitive personal information and improve traveling conditions.
The biometric passport will contain the same basic data as the printed document, but in a digital form. Information such as the name, passport number, date of birth, issue and expiration dates as well as the passport holder's picture will all be stored into a chip, thus reducing the chances of forgery, Lo added. It will not include, however, fingerprints, iris scan, or previous travel records to preserve people's privacy.
To further allay people's concerns over breaches of human rights or leakage of personal information, Lo explained the e-passport uses a contactless chip, which can be read only from a couple of centimeters away. This means the stored data cannot be intercepted by other devices.
The overall look of the new travel document will remain the same as the current one, except for the e-passport symbol printed on the front cover and the tiny chip embedded in its back cover, while the pages inside will bear pictures of Taiwan's top tourist attractions including the Taipei 101 building, Taiwan High Speed Railway, as well as indigenous butterflies and local landscapes.
Taking into consideration the recent economic downturn, the new passport will cost NT$1,200 (US$36) until the end of next year and will be valid for 10 years. Though previously issued passports can still be used until their date of expiration, citizens are welcome to apply for electronic passports prior to the expiration of their old travel documents, Lo pointed out.
Ministry officials estimate the cost of the whole project at more than NT$60 million, and more than 1.3 million biometric passports are expected to be issued before the end of next year.
Lo added that the National Immigration Agency will finish installing the special devices necessary to read e-passports by 2010.
The NIS is still in its early stage in Taiwan but it has already been implemented in countries such as South Korea, New Zealand, Italy and the Slovak Republic.
Write to Eric Chao at mailto: clchao@mail.gio.gov.tw