Three travelers were fined NT$200,000 (US$6,367) at Taoyuan Airport for bringing moon cakes containing China-produced pork into Taiwan on Sunday (Sept. 1), the Liberty Times reports.
Taipei Customs said that that China-produced moon cakes containing pork were found in the luggage of three Taiwanese travelers returning from China. Since they had not declared the items and submitted them for inspection, they were penalized for violating the quarantine regulations in place to ward against African swine fever (ASF).
Taipei Customs stated that travelers carrying pork products from any country should declare the items and provide a valid quarantine certificate issued by the country of origin or submit them for inspection before entering Taiwan. Violators will be fined up to NT$1 million (US$32,000) if the products were exported from ASF-affected areas or up to NT$3,000 (US$96) if from non-ASF-affected areas.
There is currently no vaccine or cure for ASF, which affects only pigs and has a nearly 100 percent mortality rate. Taipei Customs urges travelers not to bring any moon cakes containing pork from China, which is heavily affected by an ASF epidemic.
By Taiwan News