A traveler surnamed Liu (劉) has been detained for allegedly trying to smuggle insects from Malaysia and Japan into Taiwan for a second time, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said yesterday.
Importing live insects is a contravention of Article 15 of the Plant Protection and Quarantine Act (植物防疫檢疫法), as the introduction of harmful species could severely impact Taiwanese agriculture and affect the national ecological balance, the bureau said.
The bureau said that Liu had made his first attempt to smuggle 254 insects from Malaysia earlier this month.
Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine
Liu allegedly prepared insect specimens to present to quarantine officials while keeping the live insects in his suitcase, but the attempt was foiled when quarantine officials became suspicious and asked customs officials to inspect Liu’s suitcases, the bureau said.
Liu yesterday allegedly tried to smuggle 143 insects from Japan, but was again discovered by bureau officials, it said.
Liu faces a possible prison sentence of three years, which could be accompanied by a fine of NT$150,000, bureau officials said.
The bureau said it, along with the Customs Administration, would be stepping up inspections, and warned people not to attempt to break the law and fail to report items that should be inspected.
Separately, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted a 26-year-old Thai woman, identified only as Ramita, for alleged contravention of the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法).
Ramia had entered Taiwan on Nov. 10 last year, bringing with her 30 Indian star tortoises and four black-throated monitors, the office said.
Ramita’s act could be due to a growing trend in Taiwan of people who want to have exotic pets, like snakes and lizards, instead of animals like cats or dogs, it said.
Ramita said that she had been asked to bring the package to Taiwan and deliver it to another Thai known as Aun, and that she was not aware that the package contained the animals.
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
POLICE INVESTIGATING: A man said he quit his job as a nurse at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital as he had been ‘disgusted’ by the behavior of his colleagues A man yesterday morning wrote online that he had witnessed nurses taking photographs and touching anesthetized patients inappropriately in Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital’s operating theaters. The man surnamed Huang (黃) wrote on the Professional Technology Temple bulletin board that during his six-month stint as a nurse at the hospital, he had seen nurses taking pictures of patients, including of their private parts, after they were anesthetized. Some nurses had also touched patients inappropriately and children were among those photographed, he said. Huang said this “disgusted” him “so much” that “he felt the need to reveal these unethical acts in the operating theater
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese
WARFARE: The PLA aims to use space-based capabilities to enhance its force projection to make the Indo-Pacific region too costly for the US to protect, experts said China is rapidly building space capabilities to be able to launch precision strikes on Taiwan, the US and its allies, US Space Force leaders said at a recent conference in London. China is developing counterspace warfare capabilities including GPS jamming systems and anti-satellite missiles at “breathtaking speed,” said General Stephen Whiting, commander of the US Space Command. In the past six years, Beijing tripled its number of dedicated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites, while rapidly fielding dual-use satellites, Whiting said, adding that the capabilities are honed for detecting movements at sea. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) might have already achieved substantial benefits