Travel permits now feature Taipei 101

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on February 15, 2006. It reports that the image of Taiwan's newest landmark, the Taipei 101 building, is now printed on all travel permits issued by the Ministry of foreign Affairs. The image used in the past was that of the black-faced spoonbill.

In addition to the image of the 508-meter tower, the new version of the travel permit is also printed with the words "Welcome to Taiwan" and "Taipei 101 - The Tallest Building in the World" in order to extend the highest welcome to international visitors.

Taipei 101 recently decided to register the skyscraper as a trademark and to charge companies for using the building's image in advertisements, TV series or motion pictures. Administrators claimed that commercial usage of the building's image would be priced according to market quotations, starting from NT$100,000. But others argue that the building is public property and companies should not be charged for lifting the landmark's recognition.

Taiwan offers visa-free 30-day stay for passport holders of countries that include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.