Migrant workers who are caught illegally importing meat products from areas affected by African swine fever or receive such products without notifying the authorities would be fined, have their employment permits revoked and be deported, the Ministry of Labor said in a statement on Friday.
Taiwan has been on alert as international deliveries have been found to contain meat products that tested positive for African swine fever, the ministry said.
A package from Thailand was flagged by a post office in Tainan on Dec. 15 last year after it was found to contain sausages. A lab test on Dec. 17 found that the sausages contained the virus.
Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine via CNA
The initial result was confirmed by a test conducted by the Council of Agriculture on Dec. 22.
With the Lunar New Year holiday approaching, the ministry reminded migrant workers not to illegally import meat products, buy such products from unknown origins online, or ask friends or family members to send them to Taiwan.
People who are found to have illegally imported such products face a jail term of up to seven years and a fine of up to NT$3 million (US$108,342), it said.
Any parcels containing meat products sent by family or friends overseas should be given to the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine or a local animal protection office to be destroyed, the ministry said, adding that breaches would result in fines of up to NT$150,000 based on the Employment Service Act (就業服務法).
The government might also revoke an offender’s employment permit, ask them to leave the country and bar them from working in Taiwan, it said.
The ministry also reminded employers to inform their foreign staff about African swine fever prevention laws and regulations.
Employers should also ensure that food waste from migrant workers’ dormitories is not sent to pig farms, the ministry said.
African swine fever is not known to infect humans, but can be fatal to pigs, and an outbreak might devastate the country’s high-value pig farming industry.
The law requires kitchen waste to be steam-heated at no less than 90°C for about an hour to kill the virus.
On Aug. 23, Kaohsiung police seized 40 packages of shredded chicken and 20 packages of beef jerky, weighing 17kg in total, from the dorm room of a Vietnamese migrant worker. The shredded chicken later tested positive for African swine fever.
A week earlier, 71kg of illegally imported meat products from Vietnam were seized in New Taipei City. They were later also found to contain the virus.
Migrant workers who have questions about African swine fever should call the 1955 counseling and protection hotline, the ministry said.
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
RSS