Book publisher mistaken for China fugitive after dental surgery

Book publisher mistaken for China fugitive after dental surgery

2025-10-16

A Taiwanese book publisher heading to Frankfurt’s annual book fair came into trouble at the airport, where she was mistaken for a Chinese fugitive. Upon arriving in Germany, the woman failed an automated face ID check and was held in a separate room for 4 hours while officials verified her identity. She explained that her facial structure had changed due to orthodontic braces and surgery, and even had to show them a membership card from a chain drugstore to prove she was not a criminal.

A Taiwanese publisher heading to the Frankfurt Book Fair faced trouble entering Germany after she was mistaken for a Chinese fugitive.

Cheng Ting
Publisher
I used to wear braces. I had five teeth removed and even had orthodontic screws. I used to have buck teeth, so I looked different. The officer said, “You’re from China, right?” I said I was from Taiwan. He looked confused and I was thinking, if they thought I was a Chinese fugitive, would they deport me to China?

Publisher Cheng Ting flew to Germany on Oct. 13 from Bangkok, where she had taken part in another book fair. But she got stuck at the German border, after failing an automated face ID check. She tried to explain the situation to officers, saying that her dental braces changed her facial structure. But she was taken to a separate room for four hours and was suspected of being a fugitive from China. Though she managed to clarify the misunderstanding, the incident had sparked concern in Taiwan.

Lin Chu-yin
Lawmaker (DPP)
Often, when we present our green ROC Taiwan passports, customs officials think they are fake. In this case, a membership card from a drugstore is what saved her. It was the only ID they accepted with her transliterated name on it.

A drugstore membership card became Cheng’s only proof of identity. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it received a call from her asking for help.

Lin Chia-lung
Foreign minister
At the time of the incident, our representative office received a call from Ms. Cheng asking for help, and looked into the matter.

Eric Huang
MOFA Department of European Affairs
We will ask our representative office to get an explanation from Germany regarding the circumstances that led to this misunderstanding.

A travel influencer says that it’s best to carry multiple photo IDs when traveling abroad. And when renewing passports, bring the old one along as well just in case.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#bookfair #publisher #frankfurt #taiwan #germany #bucktooth #orthodontics #faceid #braces #fugitive #china #passport #travel #airport

遭誤指"中國通緝犯"! 台出版人入境德被扣海關4小時

2025-10-16

台灣出版人鄭莛，日前前往德國出席法蘭克福書展，沒想到就在入境查驗時，因人臉辨識未通過，而遭海關扣留長達4小時，甚至指稱她是中國通緝犯，讓她嚇得以為自己要被送到中國了！外交部官員表示，德方說法是護照照片與本人有差異，也提醒國人，在國外碰到這樣的問題，要即時與外館通報。

2025法蘭克福書展，台灣館開幕，年度盛事才剛登場，沒想到卻傳出，有出版人入境遭到刁難。

[[當事旅客鄭莛]]
“我之前戴過牙套，然後拔了五顆牙，然後有戴過骨釘，就是我以前比較暴牙，就長得就是會覺得不像這樣子。他(航警)說你來自中國吧，我說我是來自台灣，我覺得他的表情是困惑的，那你又覺得我是中國嫌疑犯，那我會不會遣返回中國呢?”

台灣出版人鄭莛，13日凌晨，從曼谷結束書展行程，飛往德國法蘭克福，沒想到入境查驗，人臉辨識卻因照片不像，始終過不了關，她向海關解釋，是因為戴牙套臉型改變，但仍被帶入小房間長達4小時，還被質疑是中國通緝犯，雖然最後靠自己極力澄清釐清爭議，但消息傳回台灣引發立委關注。

[[立委(民) 林楚茵]]
“很多時候其實我們拿出來的是中華民國台灣的綠色護照，但是海關都會認為說，不是，你這個護照是假的。某一張連鎖的美妝店會員卡，因為後面有她的英文名字，可能這個是唯一證明她的證件。”

美妝店會員卡，英文簽名成為鄭莛唯一被認可證件，被誤認中國通緝犯，外交部證實，有接獲急難救助電話。

[[外交部長林佳龍]]
“這個事情發生的時候，我們外館有接獲鄭女士的急難救助電話，也進行了解。”

[[外交部歐洲司長黃鈞耀]]
“我們也會請外館一定要德方釐清，到底是德方基於什麼樣的情況，有造成這樣的誤解。”

旅遊專家提醒，出國時身上可以攜帶多張有照片的證件，以供移民官查驗，換新護照，也記得帶上舊的。

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週一至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

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Not only were her students in for a fun surprise, the university also responded that it wasn’t a problem since the classes went on as usual. It’s great fun for students and great publicity for the university.

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Voice of fire safety expert
(voice altered)
All mass transit cars, trains, high-speed rail cars, and other public transit have dry chemical fire extinguishers. But if you spray it with dry chemicals, on the one hand it can’t mitigate the hazards posed by the lithium, and on the other, the dust it generates can cause respiratory discomfort and greater panic, maybe creating even more smoke than the battery itself.

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Voice of fire safety expert
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