Chunghwa Post Chairman Wei Chien-hung (魏建宏) yesterday said that the company on Wednesday intercepted 25 packages containing processed meat products from China and would work with quarantine officials to ensure that no such products from areas affected by African swine fever would enter the country.
Wei made the statement at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which was reviewing the company’s budget for fiscal year 2019.
Lawmakers asked how the company has been assisting quarantine officials to block imports of processed meat products following the outbreak of the disease in China.
The products intercepted on Wednesday were either returned to the sender or destroyed at the port of entry, Wei said.
So far, nobody has been fined for receiving packages containing meat products from China, he said.
Prior to Wednesday, the postal company intercepted 10 to 20 packages containing meat products per day, he said.
Sniffer dogs have been dispatched to detect such packages, Chunghwa Post said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsiao Bih-khim (蕭美琴) said that a netizen had complained that some flights from Hong Kong were serving rice with pork chops.
Hsiao asked how airports should be handling leftovers from meal and whether the government could require international flights entering the nation to not serve pork, particularly flights from China.
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chi Wen-jong (祁文中) said that leftovers are destroyed.
“Flight carriers to and from areas affected by African swine fever should not be serving pork,” Chi said. “As to whether the government can ask international flights to stop serving pork, we would ask the Civil Aeronautics Administration [CAA] to gather information on the matter.”
Caterers for in-flight meals should follow the regulations laid out by the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, the CAA said, adding that legitimate environmental technology companies should handle leftovers after gaining the approval of local environmental authorities.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS