Customs officers at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Sunday seized 560 packs of heated tobacco products from three people traveling from Japan, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The products were seized from a Taiwanese man disguised as a Japanese monk and two other passengers on China Airlines Flight CI 105 from Tokyo, the source said.
The man dressed himself as a monk to reduce the likelihood of being inspected, but others on the flight had seen the three packing the items at Narita airport and photographed their activity, the source said, adding that they reported the suspicious activity to customs officers upon their arrival in Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of a reader
Officers searched the three when they arrived and discovered the heated tobacco products in their carry-on baggage, the source said, adding that the products were seized and stored in a nearby warehouse until health authorities collect and destroy them.
Amendments to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法) that took effect on March 22 last year say that people caught illegally bringing e-cigarettes or heated tobacco products into Taiwan face a maximum fine of NT$5 million (US$155,434).
In other news, a shipment of chopping boards imported from South Korea by e-commerce operator Coupang Inc was seized at the border after failing to meet safety standards, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday.
The cypress wood products on April 11 failed a dissolution test using acetic acid and ethanol, FDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said, adding that the 20kg shipment would either be returned to its country of origin or destroyed.
The kitchenware was the seventh such shipment imported by Coupang in the past six months that failed to meet Taiwan’s safety standards, the FDA said.
Batch-by-batch inspections of chopping boards imported from South Korea by the e-commerce operator would continue, Lin said.
Eight other imported items also failed safety inspections, a list issued by the FDA showed.
Among the other goods were barley leaf powder from China, cayenne chili powder from Malaysia and fresh truffles from Bulgaria, it said.
The powders contained pesticide residue in excess of tolerable levels, it said.
All imported dried chili and pepper powder, regardless of where they are imported from, are subject to a 100 percent inspection rate at Taiwan’s border, Lin said, adding that this includes testing for Sudan dyes and pesticides.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS