Taiwan’s customs officials have issued a fine of NT$200,000 ($9,369) to a traveller for attempting to bring a lunch box containing pork into the country.
The Indonesian national had arrived from Hong Kong on April 30 when a quarantine dog sniffed out the “roast chicken and pork combo”, said the Taiwanese Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency.
The traveller was reportedly unable to pay the fine and deported.
Taiwan introduced fines of NT$200,000 for bringing pork products to the island from countries affected by African swine fever (ASF) following an outbreak in China in 2018.
Fines increase to NT$1 million for subsequent breaches of quarantine.
A better headline:
“Visitor to Taiwan attempts to break biosecurity law and is hit with a fine”
I mean, that headline implies intentionality, no? I doubt the guy knew that his lunch would get him slapped with a $10k fine.
I know I don’t Google every single item in my bag to make sure that something like the type of cotton my socks are made of doesn’t get me thrown in jail.
Anywhere with a biosecurity law has signs posted in the most popular languages. And they’ll usually tell you not to bring food or animal products into the country in any form. And there are convenient trash cans in case you did bring something you need to get rid of before you hit customs.
The guy was from Indonesia and routed to Taiwan via Hong Kong. There’s a good chance there were no signs or announcements in a language he could understand.
Do you think he traveled to Taiwan without being able to speak any English or any Mandarin? Also there is a very solid chance that his flight company informed him of the rules as he was booking the flight. Also there is stuff like pictograms. Also Indonesia is majority Muslim country, so being part of a pork eating minority further increases the likeliness of being able to speak at least some other language.
He wasn’t jailed though. He was sent home.
I mean, I don’t know that that changes my point at all, but if you’d really like me to rephrase it:
I don’t Google every item in my suitcase to make sure the the type of cotton my socks are made of won’t get me immediately deported and fined $10,000 that I don’t have.
If you travel internationally you really should scan a checklist for banned products. Especially around food and produce if you intend to bring any, there is always something on there.
I googled what not to bring into Taiwan, and this was the first link that came up: https://support.carousell.com/hc/en-us/articles/115008674167-List-of-Prohibited-Content-Taiwan
I can see pursuing that and not putting together that your lunch violates it. It has a big red text about animal product imports, but specifies that it’s about animals under quarantine, which makes it seem like more of a livestock restriction. Especially when it starts referencing legal codes instead of giving you any kind of meaningful explanation.
Combine that with the fact that the dude was Indonesian and routed through a Hong Kong airport, and I think it’s not wildly unreasonable that he would have missed the memo, even if he’d done his due diligence.
And I stand by that, even if he’d not done his due diligence, the punishment is excessive. This feels like more of a “we confiscate the offending material, slap you with a $500 fine, and send you on your way.”
It’s not like he was smuggling in livestock. He had the equivalent of a carnitas burrito from Chipotle in his bag.
I was I clined to agree with you until I got to section 5.
Fair. I’ll admit, I did start skimming at some point and you’re right, it’s pretty explicit in section 5 and I just didn’t see it.
It’s a wall of text though for sure. I probably would have skimmed it in the same way if I was looking to travel there, lol. Which is on me for sure, but I also wouldn’t expect the penalty for skimming the list and missing something to be ten grand out of my pocket, lol.
A chick got pulled for Subway: https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/inspiration/forgotten-subway-sandwich-costs-australian-traveller-jessical-lee-2664-on-arrival-home-20220721-h2576l.html
So it’s not surprising to me for being hauled up over a lunch… I’m likely biased as Australia and NZ have long been very strict about biosecurity.
What does seem strange to me is that in Australia, if I bring in something they don’t like, they turf it and let me through?? No fine or anything. Admittedly I go through the “Declare” line, and am open about what I’m unsure about.
I don’t know how you ended up on a page for a Taiwanese marketplace and didn’t realise it.
But on the other hand the official customs page doesn’t have anything about animal products.
He tried to bring something in that he (maybe) didn’t know he wasn’t supposed to, got fined? Couldn’t pay it so he got refused entry and sent home.
This is normal behavior at entry points… and should probably serve to make you go “gee I need to check that” before flying to another country.
Check what though, that’s the issue. I would never think that my carnitas burrito from Chipotle might catch me a 10k fine.
And let’s be real, there’s no reason to put that “(maybe)” in there. Are you suggesting the dude was like, “Ahahaha, my dastardly plan is in motion! I’m going to snuggle 4oz of pork hidden away in my lunch, in direct violation of import controls. It’s so clever because I have absolutely no discernable reason I would want to do this on purpose!!!”
And what are you recommending me check? Google every item on the “ingredients” list on my coke zero to make sure I’m not smuggling red dye number 33 into a country that bans it?
Most civilized countries don’t fine people $10k for breaking laws that it would be very reasonable they have no idea exist.
And let’s be real, there’s no reason to put that “(maybe)” in there. Are you suggesting the dude was like, “Ahahaha, my dastardly plan is in motion! I’m going to snuggle 4oz of pork hidden away in my lunch, in direct violation of import controls. It’s so clever because I have absolutely no discernable reason I would want to do this on purpose!!!”
No.
I’m saying he might have known that pork was banned and didn’t think it was that big of a deal. that happens all the time.
Except it’s actually a really big deal. The ban on pork, specifically, is to prevent ASF from entering the local herd.
Bio controls are one of the few ways to prevent spread; and it takes all of five minutes to check what is or isn’t banned.
Further more he could have declared it- “hey I have this pork lunch,” which would have led to a very different conversation.
And what are you recommending me check? Google every item on the “ingredients” list on my coke zero to make sure I’m not smuggling red dye number 33 into a country that bans it?
It was literally called “chicken and pork combo.” Not exactly hidden.
You don’t have to google anything- except maybe to find their customs website where it’s all very plainly stated.
There are a dozen travel advisory warnings about pork products, specifically, and clearly stating that all pork is barred from entry.
More generally, meat and dairy products are almost always barred from entry (along with most every kind of ag product in general.)
I can’t find the pork ban on the link you provided. The closest I saw was “Quarantine inspection of animals, plants and their derived products” which isn’t a prohibition of anything in particular, and the link to the relevant authority literally goes to a dead page.
Are we good with nail clippers now? In hand luggage
They take pork products particularly seriously. At least on their flag carrier, China Airlines, it would be incredibly hard to ignore the video played prior to landing with the talking pigs specifically pointing this out.
Bioterrorist deported.
when this is the first sign you see stepping off an airplane in Taiwan, I ain’t bringing anything into the country …
I read, “fuck you Britain and fuck your opium cartel past.” Seems understandable on that specific front.
So pork is a narcotic now?
I believe you may have missed the point
A better headline, not written by an asshole:
“Tourist brings wrong lunch, fined $9,000 for pork combo”
Better Headline yet: Reckless visitor tries to sneak in forbidden food and gets a fine.
There is a reason for this ban, its announced everywhere, and you even have a chance to give it up before going through the checks. Its your responsibility to obey local laws, whether you like them or not.
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What temperature do you have to cook pork to to destroy flu virus? USDA says 145⁰F, but that’s more general for bacteria and parasites.
Cooked pork seems very low risk. Taiwan’s policy does not appear grounded in science.
What if it was only cooked to 130 or 140? Are they supposed to ask and trust everyone what temperature their lunch was cooked to?
Poor traveler thought they’d heat it up for them on arrival.
The article states that the virus is very resistant to many environmental changes and can “survive” for a long time on clothes, boots, and even some pork products. This is probably one of many issues involved during an outbreak.
Almost no countries allow meat products due to potential exposure that couldn’t be easily seen. Sometimes for commercially prepared meats there are exceptions but these are in relatively few countries. For countries with substantial livestock keeping diseases out is critical to their economy and therefore treated with such a high level of urgency.
Honest question: do these animal flu/fever survive cooking?
Not proper cooking to a well temp, but you never really know if proper food safety practices were observed or not.
When are these people going to learn?
Keep. Your meats. Separate.
Roast chicken today, roast pork tomorrow.
hides his meat lover’s pizza
Pizza is, of course, always the exception when it comes to separating foods.
