Huge amounts of illicit drugs from China can now be purchased in pharmacies and even online, Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Tseng Tsahn-deng (
Tseng said the pervasiveness of illicit drugs from China was linked to government regulations, which allow travelers returning from China to carry 12 bottles of medications for personal use.
This has opened the way for retailers to smuggle the Chinese drugs into the country and sell them, he said.
Tseng said that anyone who typed in the names of illegal drugs, such as "Sanjin Watermelon Frost" (三金桂林西瓜霜), Wuji Baifeng pills (烏雞白鳳丸) or Yunnan Baiyao (雲南白藥), on Yahoo's auction site, would see many of these drugs are listed as being up for auction.
While Taiwan's Chinese-style medicines have already established a reputation as using good manufacturing practices (GMP), those in China are still in the initial stage of being certified as such, he said.
"The medicine may have been approved by the Chinese Department of Health," Tseng said, "but there is no way to verify its quality."
Tseng criticized the Department of Health in Taiwan for being ineffective in cracking down on the illegal drug sellers.
Tseng also condemned Yahoo, saying it had not adequately monitoring its auction site, even though the company has warnings on its Web page saying it will not sell illegal drugs.
Ruu Wu (
Those auctioning the drugs had either managed to avoid being detected through various search keywords or they had uploaded the items to the auction site during the night, she said.
"We hope that buyers can also help us nail them," Wu said.
Lin I-hsin (
"Those that are not yet approved by the health department are considered as false or illicit drugs," Lin said.
Lin said that each country has the authority to determine whether a drug can be legally sold in the local market.
Drugs from China might be labeled as GMP-certified, but the department would have to verify them first before they issue the approval, Lin said.
"Taiwan has laws to regulate imported drugs," he said, "If pharmaceutical companies in China want to apply [to have the drugs exported to Taiwan], they would have to offer relevant official documents and be open to allowing health department officials inspect their factories."
Lin added that the department would not rule out opening the market to imported drugs from China.
Liao Chi-Chou (廖繼洲), director general of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Department, said that anyone caught manufacturing or importing false and illicit drugs could face a jail sentence of up to seven years or a fine of between NT$15,000 (US$454.5) and NT$5 million.
Almost every local health department in Taiwan is facing staff shortages, he said, which makes it more difficult to track down illegal drug sellers.
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