Taiwan on Wednesday issued its first stamp that drops its official name of the Republic of China as it commemorated the 60th anniversary of a bloody massacre.

The issuance of the new stamp, which says only 'Taiwan,' is almost certain to provoke China, which has seen moves by the island to assert its own identity as an intention to split from the mainland.

Taiwan and China split at the end of a civil war in 1949, but Beijing still considers the island as a part of China that must be brought back into its fold, if necessary by force.

The issuance of the 'Taiwan' stamp was made in line with a request by President Chen Shui-bian of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who said the island needed to drop its 'China' references and 'rectify' its name because it is a sovereign country.

China is closely monitoring Taiwan's name-change movement, warning that it would not sit idly by if Taipei seeks formal independence or indefinitely delays reunification with the mainland.

The stamp was issued as part of a high-profile government programme to commemorate the anniversary of a massacre in February 1947 in which thousands of native Taiwanese were killed by Nationalist soldiers sent from the mainland to suppress an uprising on the island.

Chen on Wednesday took part in three major activities for the anniversary: inaugurating a memorial hall, hosting a government ceremony at a memorial park and joining about 10,000 people in a grand chorus to remember the victims killed in the massacre.

In his speeches Wednesday, Chen blamed the late Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek for ordering the attack that killed 18,000 to 28,000 Taiwanese.

'The historic fact has been twisted for too long,' he said. 'There will be no reconciliation if there is no truth.'

Chen added that an investigation should be launched to find out the truth and hold those involved accountable for the massacre, discussions of which had been suppressed under the Nationalists, who ruled Taiwan until 2000.

'The incident is not over unless those responsible are punished,' Chen said.

On Monday, he declared that Chiang was the main culprit and said Taiwan should erase Chiang's influence on Taiwan.

The 1947 massacre deepened Taiwan natives' hatred of Chinese mainlanders as Taiwan had just returned in 1945 to Chinese rule after a five-decade colonization by Japan. At the time, many Taiwanese still considered themselves Japanese rather than Chinese.

Since he was elected in 2000, Chen has been promoting Taiwan as a sovereign country and in 2006 launched the name-change campaign to delete 'China,' 'Chinese' and 'Chiang Kai-shek' from street and enterprise names.