Charity 4 North Vietnam Overseas Chinese Relief Surtax Stamps (1954) (E004)

Stamp SN : E004
Stamp Name : Charity 4 North Vietnam Overseas Chinese Relief Surtax Stamps (1954)
Stamp Cat Standard : Surtax Stamps
Stamp Cat : Relief
Issue date : 1954-10-01
Dimension of stamps(mm.) : 23x32
Printer : China Engraving & Printing Works, R.O.C.
Sheet composition : (5×5)×4
Process : Intaglio
Paper : 60-lb woodfree printing
Back : Gumless
Perforation : 11 1/2
Suspersion date : 1955-02-01
Designer : Y. S. Lin
Engraver : Pao Liang-yu

The signing of the Indo-China ceasefire agreement in Geneva on July 21, 1954 resulted in a divided Vietnam. Thousands of overseas Chinese in North Vietnam, unwilling to stay behind the Iron Curtain, evacuated their homes and went to South Vietnam. In response to the wide-spread campaign for their relief, the Directorate General of Posts issued a set of stamps on which a surtax was collected as relief funds. The stamp design is a picture of young and old refugees fleeing over a pontoon bridge constructed by their mother country, from a war-stricken area to an area of freedom.