The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday urged international travelers to check the maximum limits of medicines, medical devices, food and cosmetic products that are allowed to be brought into Taiwan, and to remember that they can only be for personal use and are prohibited from being resold.
Under the Regulations Governing the Declaration, Inspection, Duty and Release of Personal Luggage or Goods of Inward Passengers (入境旅客攜帶行李物品報驗稅放辦法), inbound travelers can carry up to 12 bottles, boxes, cans, bars or sticks of one kind of nonprescription medicine, and no more than 36 in total, FDA Medical Products Division deputy head Wu Ming-mei (吳明美) said.
Travelers carrying prescription medication without a doctor’s prescription or documented proof are limited to a two-month supply, while those with a prescription can bring in a reasonable supply, but no more than a six-month supply, she said.
Medicine brought in from other countries can only be for personal use, and people who resell it face a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$2 million (US$949 and US$63,241) under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (藥事法), Wu said.
Many Taiwanese like to buy “Alinamin EX Plus” tablets from Japan, but the product is categorized as a medicine, not a dietary supplement, so it can only be purchased for personal use, she said.
While cold medicine containing codeine can be bought over the counter in some countries, it is considered a controlled drug in Taiwan, so it must be brought in with a doctor’s prescription, she said.
A license is required to import medical products, but some are exempt, although there is a limit on the amount brought in and they must be for personal use, FDA Medical Devices and Cosmetics Division deputy head Chien Chia-hung (錢嘉宏) said.
They include adhesive bandages (no more than 60 pieces), liquid bandages (no more than four bottles), medical cotton swabs (no more than 200 pieces), condoms (no more than 60 pieces), tampons (no more than 120 pieces), daily disposable contact lenses (no more than 60 pieces, one brand, two different diopters), prescription eyeglasses (no more than one pair) and medical masks (no more than 250 pieces), Chien said.
Inbound travelers can carry up to 12 bottles, boxes, jars, packs or bags of food tablets or capsules for personal use, and no more than 36 bottles in total, FDA Food Safety Division deputy head Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智) said, adding that general food products for personal use should be worth no more than US$1,000 in total and not exceed 6kg in total.
Fines totaling NT$8.71 million were issued for 474 cases recorded in 2021 and last year, Cheng said, adding that one person was fined NT$180,000 for selling vitamin products and collagen tablets purchased from other countries on online platforms.
There are also maximum allowable limits for certain types of cosmetic products, such as sunscreen, hair dye or perm solutions, antiperspirant or deodorant, and at-home teeth whitener treatments, Chien said.
Travelers can bring in no more than 12 bottles, boxes, jars, packs or bags of each for personal use, and no more than 36 bottles in total, he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by