Seventeen out of 20 sunglasses examined by the Consumer Protection Committee in a random inspection failed to meet standards, the committee told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
The government’s Chinese National Standards (CNS) 15067 stipulate that sunglasses are ranked 0 to 4, with a lower rank meaning more light can pass through the lenses, the committee said.
Committee officer Wang Te-ming (王德明) said that level 0 lenses should have 80 percent or more light filtration, should be almost completely transparent and should be usable at night or in poor light.
Photo: Lo Chi, Taipei Times
Level 4 lenses allow less than 10 percent of light to pass, making them unsuitable for use when driving, Wang said.
Most people are not aware of the levels or what they mean, and often use lenses with a filtration level of 8 to 75 percent, which are not appropriate for driving, he said.
Some people wear glasses with polarized lenses when driving at night to mitigate the glare of headlights from oncoming vehicles, but the committee’s inspection showed that two such products failed to meet standards, he said.
Many people think that the fine print describing a product is not important and believe that a high-quality product means it is appropriate, Wang said.
However, labeling and warnings on a product are there to help people avoid risks, he said.
People should purchase sunglasses from legitimate sources and make sure that they have clear labeling, he said.
People should understand what level of filtration they need, he said.
If a consumer buys sunglasses and discover that they are poor quality, the Civic Code stipulates that they should be refunded by the store where they made the purchase, he said.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
MESSAGE: The ministry said China and the Philippines are escalating regional tensions, and Taiwan should be included in dialogue mechanisms on an equal footing Taiwan has rejected renewed sovereignty claims over the South China Sea by the Philippines and China by reaffirming its sovereignty and rights under international law over the disputed area. “The Republic of China [ROC] enjoys all rights to island groups and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea in accordance with international law and maritime laws,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a statement yesterday. Other countries’ attempts to claim sovereignty over the South China Sea do not change the fact that the ROC holds sovereignty over the region, the ministry said. The MOFA statement came after
RSS