The wife went to a government office to get some process done. After presenting all the required documents and filling all the paperwork, they couldn’t finish the process because she didn’t have a chop (or stamp, whatever you prefer).
She tried to argue that since she was there in person, she was planning on signing the papers, and that that should be enough, but guess what… 沒辦法!
So she’d have to go back home, to take the $#&@* chop, return back to the office, get a number, wait for her turn, then do the whole process again, just because of a piece of wood that anyone can make in a dirty corner shop and that doesn’t really proof one’s identity!
How crazy is that?!
How come a chop is more valid than a signature?
This is Taiwan, I know, and it always have been like that, I know, 沒辦法, but does it make sense?
I, for one, didn’t even knew the concept of a chop, as everything is done by signatures back home.
Is it like that in other countries too?
Yes. I run a business here and the stamp is always required. That’s just how it is.
At least I don’t have to deal with my shitty fine motorskills and the stamp ensures it’s the same every time.
They’re both not THAT secure. Stamps can be forged and same with signatures.
But if you notice, EVERYTHING official is stamped. It wouldn’t be the same without the constant rumble of stamping in Taiwanese and Chinese banks, government offices and more.
That makes sense. In the old country, people that can’t write their own name (believe me, there are many) also use their fingerprint as proof of identity.
What surprises me is that chops are preferred over signatures, even though it’s much easier (and cheap) to get someone’s chop than their signature.
I reckon it’s just a side effect in East Asia where Chinese Characters were once the norm and signatures were probably too cumbersome to write and just remained the tradition because… why bother changing. High literacy rates are also a relatively new phenomenon here as well.
When I opened my bank account they asked me if I wanted to use signature or chop. I choose signature, unknowing, that I had to replicate the signature every time in the exact same way. Switched to chop right then and there.
I don’t know if it’s less secure or not. I’m using a different chop for different purposes so if one gets lost it doesn’t affect all the others.
I guess if someone is really determined to do harm they can do it regardless of which form of identification you use.
I hate chops because someone can steal it and use it to impersonate you (they are as valid as signature).
Next time if they insist on chops on a government form offer your thumb. They are as valid as chops and can’t be stolen (well someone could chop off your thumb or whatever).
