Palau Postmaster General Timothy Sinsak and Republic of China – Taiwan (ROC-Taiwan) Ambassador to Palau Wallace M. G. Chow had officially unveiled yesterday, June 28, the new commemorative stamps jointly released by Palau and Taiwan that highlight the message of conserving endangered sea species.
The commemorative stamps, which feature a shark and Green Sea Turtle, had first been unveiled in Taiwan on June 26 and was followed by its official unveiling ceremony here at the Office of the President Satellite Office.
Postmaster General Sinsak said in an interview with Island Times after the ceremony that the unveiling of the stamps in Taiwan was big and its success had been talked about by the local media there.
“The message behind the stamp will make it sell. This is the first time that the Palau Post made a joint issue with another independent foreign postal administration,” Sinsak said.
“We are going over our boundaries as just a postal service by joining the global effort to conserve sharks and turtles from extinction,” Sinsak added.
In his speech yesterday, Ambassador Chow also expressed that through the stamps, they wanted to raise people’s awareness of the importance of protecting the oceans.
“Taiwan and Palau are island nations, therefore, we know ocean exists not only in our culture but also our daily life. It feeds us, protect us, regulate our climate, our weather, anchor industries from transportation to tourism to trade of all kind,” Chow said, explaining further that unsustainable fishing practices and excessive human activities had put the oceans at risk.
The idea of producing the commemorative stamp was arranged two years ago with the Embassy of ROC – Taiwan in Palau.
In our previous report, Sinsak said that during the meeting with the former Chairman of the Chunghwa Post in Taipei, Philip Ong, both parties agreed that the two countries must start doing something on the conservation of sharks and sea turtles especially that in Taiwan sharks are consumed as food while the same goes for sea turtles in Palau.
When the incumbent chairman of the Chunghwa Post, Kent K.T. Wang, took over the position, he agreed to continue the plan which led to the signing of the Ceding Rights Contract last April, Sinsak shared.
A total of 800,000 sheets of the commemorative stamp are printed in Taiwan under the China Color Printing Co., Ltd while Palau also reproduce a total of 5,000 sheets.
Each stamp can be purchased in Palau’s Philatelic Office for $1.50 and it will carry the message on its print that says, “to preserve and protect the sharks and turtles from extinction.” A whole sheet is only sold for $3. (Rhealyn C. Pojas)