Nine cases of unsolicited packages containing seeds or soil from China have been reported, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday.
Following similar reports in the US, Japan and other countries, the council from Tuesday to Friday last week received nine reports, COA Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) told a news conference in Taipei.
The packages were destroyed, Chen said.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
Six of the packages contained grass, rose, lotus, fishpole bamboo or brassica seeds, which were delivered along with products ordered through e-commerce Web sites Taobao (淘寶), a Chinese site, Shopee, a Singaporean site, or Facebook, council data showed.
The two Facebook orders were made by people who ordered seeds and expected them to be locally sourced, but received seeds from China, Chen said.
The other three packages contained fertilizer or soil, including two attached with ordered products and one sent by itself, he said.
Photo: CNA
Further investigation is needed to determine how the packages passed customs inspections and whether brokerage firms breached the Plant Protection and Quarantine Act (植物防疫檢疫法), Chen said.
A total of 198 illegal packages of plants and related products have been intercepted this year, excluding the nine cases, he said.
Soil and seeds from unknown sources might contain nematodes, pests, pathogenic bacteria or viruses that could devastate Taiwan’s agricultural production, Chen said, adding that people who receive suspicious parcels should immediately inform the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health, Inspection and Quarantine.
All parcels from overseas are X-rayed at ports, a measure adopted after African swine fever broke out in China in 2018, he said.
The council has asked the Chinese Non-Store Retailer Association to remind online retailers not to send seeds as gifts, and if they sell such products, sources should be specified, bureau Deputy Director Chou Hui-chuan (鄒慧娟) said.
People caught illegally importing plants and related products face a prison term of up to three years or a fine of up to NT$150,000, the council said.
Taiwan has been threatened by several major infectious diseases in animal or plants from China over the past two years, highlighting the importance of border inspections, Chen said.
Right-wing political scientist Laura Fernandez on Sunday won Costa Rica’s presidential election by a landslide, after promising to crack down on rising violence linked to the cocaine trade. Fernandez’s nearest rival, economist Alvaro Ramos, conceded defeat as results showed the ruling party far exceeding the threshold of 40 percent needed to avoid a runoff. With 94 percent of polling stations counted, the political heir of outgoing Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves had captured 48.3 percent of the vote compared with Ramos’ 33.4 percent, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said. As soon as the first results were announced, members of Fernandez’s Sovereign People’s Party
MORE RESPONSIBILITY: Draftees would be expected to fight alongside professional soldiers, likely requiring the transformation of some training brigades into combat units The armed forces are to start incorporating new conscripts into combined arms brigades this year to enhance combat readiness, the Executive Yuan’s latest policy report said. The new policy would affect Taiwanese men entering the military for their compulsory service, which was extended to one year under reforms by then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in 2022. The conscripts would be trained to operate machine guns, uncrewed aerial vehicles, anti-tank guided missile launchers and Stinger air defense systems, the report said, adding that the basic training would be lengthened to eight weeks. After basic training, conscripts would be sorted into infantry battalions that would take
GROWING AMBITIONS: The scale and tempo of the operations show that the Strait has become the core theater for China to expand its security interests, the report said Chinese military aircraft incursions around Taiwan have surged nearly 15-fold over the past five years, according to a report released yesterday by the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Department of China Affairs. Sorties in the Taiwan Strait were previously irregular, totaling 380 in 2020, but have since evolved into routine operations, the report showed. “This demonstrates that the Taiwan Strait has become both the starting point and testing ground for Beijing’s expansionist ambitions,” it said. Driven by military expansionism, China is systematically pursuing actions aimed at altering the regional “status quo,” the department said, adding that Taiwan represents the most critical link in China’s
‘REALLY PROUD’: Nvidia would not be possible without Taiwan, Huang said, adding that TSMC would be increasing its capacity by 100 percent Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday praised and lightly cajoled his major Taiwanese suppliers to produce more to help power strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI), capping a visit to the country of his birth, where he has been mobbed by adoring fans at every step. Speaking at an impromptu press conference in the rain outside a Taipei restaurant, where he had hosted suppliers for a “trillion-dollar dinner,” named after the market capitalization of those firms attending, Huang said this would be another good year for business. “TSMC needs to work very hard this year because I need a lot
RSS