The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday publicly destroyed hazardous Chinese-made toys to demonstrate its determination to crack down on substandard products in the hope of better protecting children's health and safety.
Presiding over the toy-smashing activities in Taipei, Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (陳瑞隆) said that the demonstration was also aimed at raising the public's awareness of low-quality products manufactured in China.
Chen said that there was widespread concern around the world about unsafe Chinese products, including food products, toothpaste and toys.
PHOTO: CNA
He added that many countries have begun to implement stricter controls on products imported from China.
Against this backdrop, the Executive Yuan established a special task force last month to monitor the safety of imported products, Chen said.
During the period from January to July, 114 of 4,589 batches of toys randomly chosen for inspection failed to pass safety tests, he said.
Among the 4,589 batches of toys, 3,215 batches came from China, with 109 of these batches failing to pass safety tests, Chen said.
Some of the Chinese toys were found to contain excessive levels of heavy metals in the paint, while others had sharp-pointed parts which were dangerous to children, the ministry said.
China’s chip industry is growing faster than anywhere else in the world, after US sanctions on local champions — from Huawei Technologies Co (華為) to Hikvision Digital Technology Co (海康威視) — spurred appetite for homegrown components. Nineteen of the world’s 20 fastest-growing chip industry firms over the past four quarters, on average, hail from the world’s No. 2 economy, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. That compared with just eight firms at the same point last year. Revenue at China-based suppliers of design software, processors and gear vital to chipmaking is increasing at several times the pace of global leaders Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co
Had Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck hopped on an electric scooter rather than a Vespa in the classic film Roman Holiday, their spin around the Eternal City might have ended in tears. The number of crashes and near-misses involving the two-wheelers has prompted Rome authorities to impose some order on a booming rental market that began two years ago. The havoc came to a head earlier this month when two US tourists attempted a night-time drive down the Spanish Steps, causing more than 25,000 euros (US$26,392) worth of damage to the 18th-century monument. Caught on security footage, the couple in their late 20s
POSITIVE SIGNS: GlobalWafers has continued to sign long-term supply agreements, most of which exceed 2028, and aside from one factory, it is running at full capacity GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s third-largest silicon wafer maker, yesterday said that Samsung Electronics Co and most of its customers have not scaled back on orders, or delayed shipments, even though consumer spending has shifted away from smartphones and notebook computers due to mounting inflation pressures. Rising inflation has altered consumers’ spending habits, dampening sales of consumer electronics, the Hsinchu-based company said. However, customers all honored their supply agreements by adjusting their product mix and shifting to applications that are still reporting robust growth, it said. Aside from one 6-inch factory, GlobalWafers’ 15 factories around the world are running at 100 percent
Nearly a quarter of European companies in China are considering shifting their investments out of the country as COVID-19 outbreaks and lockdowns dim the outlook for the world’s second-largest economy, a survey showed. About 23 percent of the businesses that responded to the survey are thinking of moving their current or planned investments away from China, a report released yesterday by the EU Chamber of Commerce in China said. The survey was conducted at the end of April, when Shanghai was still in shut down and restrictions in places like Jilin Province disrupted business activity. The number of European firms reassessing
RSS