Stamps of the Republic of China

In 1949 the leaders of the Republic of China retreated to Taiwan when the communists took over the mainland of China. The communists started the People’s Republic of China on the mainland, but the Republic of China continued to represent all of China on the diplomatic level. The Republic lost its seat at the United Nations in 1971 however, after the United States switched sides. The PR of China sees Taiwan as a rebel island, which should become part of the PR, while the ROC sees the PR as the rebels, although claims on the mainland have been less pronounced in recent years. The ROC isn't a member of the Universal Postal Union, but it does have its own stamps. Mail exchanged with other countries is usually done via other countries such as Japan. The 12 New Taiwan Dollar rate is pretty low, only around € 0.35, and for that it reaches the Netherlands in seven days.