台灣

Hello there! After a long hiatus in posting, I have here for you today a most wonderful cover from Taiwan, thanks to my friend Wu Wei Yi from Kaohsiung (高雄).

This is, in my amateur opinion, an interesting cover because it has many elements combined, those being: a first day envelope without the actual stamps, an ATM stamp, a special franking for Kaohsiung, and a stamp on one of my favorite themes: postal paraphernalia!

The first day envelope. Curiously, Chunghwa Post allows for the use of blank FDCs to send letters using stamps other than those intended to be used on the FDC. In this case, the stamps for this 2006 Year of the Pig issue were not used and, for reference, they are shown below:

The ATM stamp. The ATM used here was issued for the value of NT$4 (roughly USD 0.12) by machine number 89 (I cannot find any information as to where Machine 89 is located). It shows the Tung flower, the flower of the Paulownia tree. Festivals are held to celebrate the flower, the latest being the 2009 Hakka Tung Blossom festival held in Taiwan earlier this year.


The Paulownia tree is native to much of China (where it is known as 泡桐, or paotong) and southern continental Asia and is also cultivated in Japan and Korea. It is popular in its native China for reforestation, roadside planting and as an ornamental tree. The wood is also important in China, Korea, and Japan for making the soundboards of stringed musical instruments such as the guqin, pipa, koto, and kayagum. Interesting to note is that it was named in honour of Queen Anna Pavlovna of The Netherlands (1795–1865), daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia. Scientific info on the plant available here.

The special postmark from Kaoshiung shows Kaohsiung harbor, or 高雄港. The first two characters spell out Kaohsiung in Chinese. Notice that the last Chinese character 港 (gang) is the second character for the Chinese spelling of Hong Kong (香港); this is because 港 means "harbor/port" in Chinese.


And, finally, to my favorite component: the stamp!
The stamp comes from a 4v set issued on 1996 to celebrate what I have come to understand as 100 years of philatelic service in Taiwan (郵政一百週年紀念). The particular stamp on the cover shows instruments and documents used when sending out mail, such as the scale and what seems to be receipts (there seems to be a small drawing of an EMS receipt in front of the green scale). How I wish I could have received the entire set! Maybe my friend Wu Wei Yi can send me an entire set? Or perhaps the FDC for this issue? :-)

Below is a scan of a beautiful cover sent on the first day of issue, along with other special postmarks. The special postmark at the bottom center shows the Philatelic Museum, if I am not mistaken. I plan to visit the Taiwan postal museum when I find the time.....

非常感谢，吴韋毅先生！

Singapore Today Part 2

Thanks to my friend Edmund Ong, I was finally able to complete my set of the Singapore Today issue, which was released on 09 Aug 2008 to celebrate National Day.

In this issue, to commemorate Singapore's National Day 2008, photos from 5 Cultural Medallion recipients : Mr David Tay, Mr Tan Lip Seng, Mr Chua Soon Bin, Mr Foo Tee Jun and Mr Teo Bee Yen were specially reproduced. All the stamps depict pictures from these 5 photographers capturing various scenes of Singapore.

The Cultural Medallion was introduced in 1979 to recognize those who have achieved in their field of art. The first Cultural Medallion for photography as given in 1982 to David Tray.

The second envelope, sent to me a few months back, is from Florence Low.

Eesti (Estonia)

Here is a cover from one of the lesser-known countries in Europe, Estonia.
Although this is not the first cover I have received from the country that shares a border with Latvia to the South, Russia to the East, the Gulf of Finland to the North, and the Baltic Sea to the West.

As you can see, the cover is very dirty and messy. I have included a scan of the back of the envelope so that you can trace the path that it travelled when it arrived in the Philippines. Mind that it was forwarded twice since it was addressed to the place where I stayed some time ago.

However, the stories behind the stamps are quite the opposite, as they reveal a picturesque 18th century estate and an admirable statesman who worked towards putting his country on the map.

Let's first begin with the uncancelled stamp on the left, which was issued in 1999. It features Olustvere Mansion in the northern part of Vijandi county in central Estonia.

Taken from the Olustvere mansion website:

Olustvere manorial estate complex with its numerous buildings and park with many species is situated in the heart of Olustvere.

The manor was founded in the second half on the 16th century. At the end of the 18th century the manor came into the possession of the Fersens - an ancient noble family from Norhtern Germany. The manor stayed in their possession until its expropriation by the Republic of Estonia in 1918.

Olustvere is one of the best preserved manorial estate ensembles in Estonia.

Entering the manor park from between the stone walls, the noble heimat-style manor house is first to catch the eye. With its bright colours it fits well into the greenery of the surrounding park. The old manor house, estate manager`s house, granary, drying hose of massive stones, distillery, stables and cattle-sheds and several other houses have also preserved.

The blue stamp on the right was issued in honor of Lennart Meri, a statesman, filmmaker, and second president of the Republic of Estonia.

Born in Tallinn, the capital, he left Estonia at a very young age and went on to study at nine different schools in four different languages. Besides Estonian, which is closely realted to Finnish, Meri spoke five other language: Russian, French, German, English, and Finnish. He had a deep interest in the Finno-Ugric languages, which he encountered during his stay at a concentration camp in Siberia during the Second World War. His interest in the matter would live on to his later years.

He graduated with a degree in Hisdtor from the University of Tartu, but he was unable to pursue a career as an historian since Soviet politics kept him from doing so. Instead, he opted to delve into the arts and wrote books and films, which were warmly received and critically acclaimed.

In the 70s, he was able to convince the USSR to grant him permission to cross the Soviet borders known as the Iron Curtain. He used these opportunities to go to Finland and express the plight of the Estonian nation under Soviet rule, which included phosphorite mining, which would have left a third of the country uninhabitable.

He took part in the "Singing Revolution" led by Estonian intellectuals to urge people against Soviet rule. In 1990, Meri was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and thus envdeavored to establish ties with the West and thereby increase kowledge on the existence of the country throughout the world.

In 1992, he was installed as the second president of the republic, a position which he held until 2001.

He died in 2005 of a brain tumor. President Rüütel said, "In his nine years as head of state, Meri both restored the presidency and built up the Republic of Estonia in the widest sense." Finnish President Tarja Halonen stated, "The Finnish nation lost in Lennart Meri a close and sincere friend and the world, a great statesman who was one of the leading architects of the post-Cold War world." Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga said, "the world has lost a great Estonian, a great statesman and a true European."

Lennart Meri was chosen the European of the Year in 1998 by French newspaper La Vie.