The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday announced that imported masks would have to be approved by the ministry after an investigation revealed another case of alleged fraud.
The investigation had revealed that Haw Ping Co (豪品國際實業), based in Yuanlin (員林), Changhua County, had imported 7.2 million industrial-grade masks from China and sold them as medical-grade masks made in Taiwan, the ministry said.
It was the nation’s second case of fraud after New Taipei City-based Carry Hi-tech Co (加利科技) was found to have supplied the government’s mask rationing system with industrial-grade masks made in China.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Economic Affairs via CNA
While Haw Ping is also a member of the mask “national team,” Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said that the investigation had showed that the Chinese masks were not sold through the government’s rationing system.
“We stepped up our investigations after the Carry Hi-tech case and found that Haw Ping was importing an unusual number of masks,” Wang told reporters at a news conference in Taipei.
“After visiting retailers, we found that Haw Ping was selling three-dimensional face masks that it does not have the equipment to make in Taiwan,” she said.
Of the 7.2 million industrial-grade masks the company imported from China, about 3 million remain in its warehouses, meaning 4 million have likely been sold, she said.
The number of masks imported from China has increased and last month alone 80 million masks were imported to Taiwan, mostly industrial-grade masks made in China, Wang said.
The ministry was not proposing banning the import of all industrial-grade masks from China over concerns it would inconvenience those who want them for legitimate uses, but starting on Wednesday next week, all imports of masks would have to be preapproved by the ministry, she said.
The ministry would track imported masks to ensure they are properly labeled at the point of sale, she added.
“This way we can control how many are coming in and we can demand weekly updates from the businesses of where they are going. We need to ensure Chinese masks are not being sold as masks made in Taiwan and that industrial-grade masks are not being sold as medical-grade masks,” Wang said.
She urged businesses and consumers not to buy loose masks not in packaging.
“Stay away from improperly packaged masks because you do not know where they came from,” she said.
The Bureau of Foreign Trade is to announce the details of obtaining import approval for masks on Monday next week and all imports would have to be approved starting the following Wednesday, the ministry said.
As an additional measure of security, all medical-grade masks made in Taiwan from Thursday next week must carry the “Made in Taiwan” and “MD” stamps to prove their provenance, it said.
The government began requisitioning all domestically produced medical-grade masks on Jan. 31 and implemented a rationing program on Feb. 6.
While consumers can now buy unlimited numbers of masks on the open market, the option of buying nine masks every 14 days at a set price remains for those who have a National Health Insurance card.
Additional reporting by CNA
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
POSSIBILITIES EMERGE: With Taiwan’s victory and Japan’s narrow win over Australia, Taiwan now have a chance to advance if South Korea also beat the Aussies Taiwan has high hopes that the national baseball team would advance to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after clinching a crucial 5-4 victory over South Korea in a nail-biting extra-inning game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Boosted by three home runs — two solo shots by Yu Chang (張育成) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and a two-run homer by Stuart Fairchild — the triumph gave Taiwan a much-needed second victory in the five-team Pool C, where only the top two finishers would advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida. Entering extra innings with the game tied at four apiece, Taiwan scored
MISSION OF PEACE: The foreign minister urged Beijing to respect Taiwan’s existence as an independent nation, and work together to ensure peace and stability in the region Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday rejected Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s (王毅) comments about Taiwan, criticizing China as a “troublemaker” in the international community and a disruptor of cross-strait peace. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Wang said that Taiwan has always been a territory of China and that it would be impossible for it to become its own country. The “return” of Taiwan to China was the natural outcome of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japan in World War II, and that any pursuit of independence was “doomed
One person was killed and another seven injured today when a tourist shuttle bus plunged 30m to 40m down a ravine in Nantou County, the Tourism Administration said. The bus is suspected to have suddenly accelerated out of control near the flower center of the Sun-Link-Sea Forest Recreation Area, a popular attraction during cherry blossom season. Of the eight onboard, a 66-year-old man was killed, four were seriously injured and three sustained minor injuries, including the driver. The Nantou County Police Department said it received a report of the incident at 12:15pm and dispatched seven teams to assist. All surviving passengers have been transferred
RSS