Chinese snacks smuggled into Taiwan spark food safety fears

Chinese snacks smuggled into Taiwan spark food safety fears

2026-09-11

Snacks from China, such as noodles, spicy peanuts and wax candies, have become popular in Taiwan thanks to social media. However, some can contain additives that are strictly restricted in Taiwan, raising food safety concerns. A Control Yuan investigation found that these kinds of Chinese snacks have been continuously entering Taiwan through legal loopholes in recent years. Over one hundred businesses have been investigated for illegally selling them. Let’s find out more.

The pungent yet fragrant hot and spicy broth of Liuzhou luosifen is so addictive that many foodies become instantly hooked after just one bite. But watch out—this unique Chinese snack, once it crosses over to Taiwan, can easily turn from a popular treat into illegal smuggling before you know it.

Customs and border quarantine agencies are the first line of defense for food safety before overseas food enters Taiwan. All food items, whether delivered by courier or mail, must undergo inspection.

Kuo Kuan-yuan
Customs Administration
All express delivery and parcel shipments undergo X-ray inspection. Each shipment has a barcode upon import, and our customs officials examine every single parcel.

Officials use X-ray machines, coupled with data from the person’s past records, to layer by layer screen out suspicious packages. Between 2023 and 2025 alone, customs seized 3,071 illegally imported Chinese snacks. Among them, Chinese spicy peanuts were the most frequently seized, followed by candy and luosifen. However, with so many packages, it is probably impossible to prevent them coming in by relying solely on customs at the frontline.

Tien Chiu-chin
Control Yuan investigator
In 2025, 800,000 people imported food under the guise of personal consumption. Some imported several thousand kilograms of food in a year, all claiming it was for personal use. Is that likely? Of course not.

For illegal food products that have already entered the market, the Food and Drug Administration will cooperate with local health agencies to conduct inspections. If importers are found to lack import permits or to be evading inspections, they may face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$3 million in accordance with the Food Safety Act.

Voice of Hsu Chao-kai
Food and Drug Administration
We look at approximately how much of these products the public actually needs or uses in a year.

The government is considering strengthening preventative measures, but consumers should not only consider the price before buying food; they should also carefully check the source labeling and legality.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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#Foodsafety #Chineseimports #Taiwanfoodsafety #Chinese #snacks

螺螄粉恐違規輸台! 海關3年查獲3071件中國零食

2026-09-11

來自中國的蠟瓶糖、螺螄粉及麻辣花生等零食，隨著社群媒體傳播，也在台灣掀起流行。然而這些中國製零食，往往高油、高鹽、高納，有的甚至還添加了在台灣被嚴格限制使用的添加物，具有食安疑慮。監察院卻踢爆，這些中國零食近年不斷透過法律漏洞，流入台灣，3年有超過上百家業者被查獲違法販售，異言堂團隊深入追蹤。

又臭又香的麻辣湯頭，筷子一夾大口吸進螺螄粉，濃烈滋味讓不少饕客一吃就上癮。但小心這碗來自中國的特色小吃，跨海來到台灣，一個不注意可能就從人氣美食變成非法走私。

海關和邊境檢疫單位。就是海外食品進入台灣前，食安把關的第一道防線，不論海外快遞還是郵寄包裹都得接受檢查。

[[財政部關務署關務查緝組長郭寬淵]]
"所有的快遞貨物還有郵包的貨物，我們都會經過X光，當貨物進口的時候上面都有條碼，我們海關的官員就每一包我們都會來看。"

X光機再搭配輸入人過往紀錄，層層過濾可疑包裹，光是2023年到2025年間，海關就查獲3071件，違規輸入的中國零食，其中被抓最多的是中國麻辣花生，糖果、螺螄粉則位在二、三名，但包裹這麼多只靠海關守大門恐怕還是防不勝防。

[[監察院調查委員田秋堇]]
"114年有八十萬人用個人自用的名義輸入食品，有人一年進口了好幾千公斤（食品），都在說他們是個人自用的，這個有可能嗎？當然不可能。"

針對已經流入市面的違規食品，食藥署也會配合地方衛生局前往稽查，如果查到缺乏輸入許可或是規避查驗，進口人可依食安法面臨3萬到300萬元罰鍰。

[[聲源: 衛福部食藥署食品組長許朝凱]]
"我們會去思考民眾，每次每年最需要的使用量，大概是多少。"

政府研擬從制度加強防堵，但民眾買進嘴巴前，也別只看價格夠不夠香，來源標示、合不合法，更得睜大眼睛看清楚。

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DPP candidate’s campaign pens go viral, boosting his popularity

A DPP political candidate is proving literally that the pen is mightier than the sword. Tseng Tzu-yao, a DPP candidate for Taichung City Council, has recently seen a huge boost in his popularity after his campaign ballpoint pens went viral on social media. Now, there are seemingly endless queues of people outside Tseng’s office, hoping to get hold of one of the pens that netizens say has an exceptionally smooth ink flow. But they’re now also in short supply: from a batch of 10,000, 7,000 were sold out in three days. Let’s learn more about this campaign tool that is underlining the power of Taiwan’s democracy.

A long line forms outside the office of Tseng Tzu-yao, a DPP Taichung City councilor candidate representing Beitun District. Most of them are there for his special campaign pen.

Member of the public
Waiting to get a pen
I saw someone sharing it on an online community and they even tried writing with it. I’m quite curious about this legendary pen that writes so well.

Member of the public
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I’m curious to see how good this pen really is to be blowing up like this online.

The campaign pen’s explosive popularity is all because netizens are posting on social media about how smoothly it writes. Is writing with it really that smooth?

Member of the public
Waiting to get a pen
The pen feels surprisingly natural to hold, writes very smoothly and doesn’t feel cheap at all.

Member of the public
Waiting to get a pen
A pen is so easy to carry around—moms can use it to sign school contact books or fill out forms. When it writes smoothly, it really leaves an even greater impression.

Not only is it easy to write with, but its light green metallic glossy casing also gives it a more premium feel compared to other traditional campaign pens.

Tseng Tzu-yao
Taichung City councilor candidate (DPP)
This batch is about 10,000 pens. It took several months to distribute them, and in the last day or two, we’ve probably finished distributing the supply from the previous three or four months. Because after they became popular, everyone was rushing to get one.

Not only did the pen go viral, but it also turned the candidate into a trending search topic, giving him an unexpected bump in exposure.

Other practical campaign items include this green fine mesh bag, which many mothers and grandmothers specifically request when they come to this office.

Member of the public
Likes the mesh bag
It’s very practical and great, I think it’s good.

Fitted over the kitchen sink drain to catch every last bit of food scrap, this kitchen hack has become DPP councilor Chen Ya-hui’s secret weapon for winning over voters.

Chen Ya-hui
Taichung City councilor (DPP)
This is used every day, so every time people see it, they think of Ya-hui. The secret to being memorable is being part of their daily routine.

Election campaigning is intense, with candidates fighting tooth and nail. These candidates are leaning into practical giveaways to leave a lasting impression and stand out from the pack.

#localelections #Taiwanelections #Taiwancampaigning #DPPpoliticians #greatpens #kitchenhacks #ballpointpens

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

2026-09-11

Bakery hires over 100 part-timers to fill rushed holiday orders

As the Mid-Autumn Festival draws near, bakeries are entering their busiest season. One well-known shop hired over 100 extra part-timers working over three shifts for 24 hours every day to fill their long list of orders. Although ingredient costs have been relatively stable, the owner said that packaging materials such as plastic bags and paper boxes have gotten about 15% more expensive. They’ve decided to absorb the extra cost this time around, as they seek to capitalize on the festive gift-giving season.

Round scoops of red bean paste are folded delicately into dough entirely by hand. One baker can wrap up to 5,000 per day, bringing this bakery’s daily mooncake output to 200,000.

On the other side, freshly baked taro lava pastries are packed into clear containers, sealed, and individually wrapped. The Mid-Autumn Festival is almost here, and the assembly line at this well-known bakery is running at full capacity.

Lee Tien-hung
Bakery manager
We’ve brought in extra help for the Mid-Autumn rush, a little more than 100 part-timers. We run a three-shift system operating 24 hours a day to meet deadlines. This year, our largest corporate order was for over 5,000 boxes.

Once they roll off the production line, the mooncakes are sent to the adjacent building for boxing, sealing, and assembly. Once they’re ready, workers will verify the orders and seal the boxes for shipping. The most popular offering is the taro lava cake, featuring salted egg yolk and taro paste for the perfect blend of salty and sweet. They’re also selling a seasonal-limited matcha pomelo flavor, with pineapple filling and pomelo jam wrapped inside a pineapple cake crust. The tangy-sweet combo has attracted many buyers.

Customer
Buys pastries for festivals
Most egg yolk pastries are dry, but not this one. This one is more moist inside. We get them for corporate gifts during the Mid-Autumn Festival and Lunar New Year.

Lee Tien-hung
Bakery manager
Ingredient costs have stabilized. Plastic goods is where we’ve seen the biggest price increase, like our plastic bags and packaging film. Even the paper boxes have gone up by at least 15%. We’re absorbing the cost. Our target for sales growth this year is 30%. As of now, we’ve already reached 20%.

Although packaging costs have gone up, the bakery is adopting a high-volume, low-margin strategy to maintain sales growth.

#MidAutumnFestival #mooncakes #bakery #pastries #MoonFestival #foodindustry

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

2026-09-11

Social workers intervene in boy selling guavas alone in Pingtung

People recently spotted a young boy in Pingtung selling guavas from a cart all by himself. The county’s Department of Social Affairs came to check on him and discovered that he had also been seen selling the fruit in Kaohsiung with his parents nowhere in sight. The department is considering imposing a fine.

- Where’s your dad?
Is he close by?

Two social workers ask a young boy running a guava stand where his father is.

- He says he’ll take us to his dad.
On principle, he can’t run the stand by himself.
You just can’t let him run the stand all by himself.

They finally found his father, but this wasn’t the first time the boy was spotted selling guavas alone. He was also seen running the stand by himself in Kaohsiung.

- We need the money.
- What else do you help your family with?
- I only sell guava.
- Did your dad go back home?
- There’s no way he went back. The round trip is too long.

The boy’s father waits outside the night market until he’s sold all the fruit, then takes him back home. The sign on the stand says “filial child,” clearly in an attempt to elicit sympathy.

Member of public
Pities child
He’s so young. He should be living carefree, but he’s here selling guava.

Member of public
Pities child
It seems like he’s been forced to grow up. His parents should at least be there with him.

Having a child sell things alone is against child welfare laws. After being caught in Kaohsiung, they went back to Pingtung. The boy is on the Pingtung Department of Social Affairs’ list of people to check on, but no matter how many times they’ve talked to his father, he seems unwilling to change.

Hsu Tzu-yun
Pingtung social affairs deputy director
We’ve already been helping this family for many years, even putting the father through mandatory parenting education. But repeated conversations with social workers have done little to stop him from having his son run a stand alone in the night market.

The department said it would fine the father if he keeps having his son sell fruit by himself. Hopefully, the boy can have a more carefree childhood.

#child #son #poor #poverty #father #childlabor #childwelfare #guavastand #guavas #Pingtung

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

2026-09-11

Premier countersigns KMT version of drone industry development bill

Premier Cho Jung-tai has countersigned the KMT’s version of a much-debated bill regarding the development of Taiwan’s drone industry. But though their law is now promulgated, opposition lawmakers from the KMT and TPP are not happy about the process. They are criticizing the premier for potentially using the countersignature system to block bills he doesn’t support. Let’s hear more.

Cho Jung-tai
Premier
I countersigned the bill within the legally prescribed period. The only rationale for countersigning bills is that they must not violate the Constitution or the law, undermine the separation of powers or undermine fiscal discipline. We shouldn’t put industry, or national defense and security in the back burner. We insist on two principles. The government’s power over the budget should not be undermined by a breach of the separation of powers. And national secrets must be properly protected.

Lee Yen-hsiu
Lawmaker (KMT)
Countersignatures are not a Constitutional pick-and-mix right for the premier. It’s not a power to be wielded unconstitutionally.

Hung Yu-shiang
Lawmaker (TPP)
The Executive Yuan shouldn’t have double standards. They can’t choose to countersign only the bills they want to approve.

Xavier Chang
Executive Yuan Secretary-General
National security should not be sacrificed for political welfare. And neither should industrial development. We’ve decided to let go of the dispute and put our country first. National defense and security cannot wait.

The bill is called the Act on Strengthening Defense Autonomy and Developing the Unmanned Vehicles Industry. It allocates NT$240 billion over six years, and requires the Executive to establish a strategic committee on the matter. This committee would be formed by experts recommended by the different political parties, and the meetings would be required to be made public online. This latest part has been slammed by the DPP, which says that making such information public would be welcoming the enemy with a red carpet. Premier Cho says that, though the Executive Yuan is disappointed with the bill, it is not unconstitutional, adding that any shortcomings can be made up for during its implementation.

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

#drone #uav #defense #taiwan #politics

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Thousands flock to one-night-only ‘Spirited Away’ night market

Ever wondered what it would look like if Spirited Away came to life in Taiwan? There’s a night market in Miaoli that has earned exactly that comparison, and it only happens one night a year. The streets around Yuanli Train Station are transformed into a massive, one-night-only market, with hundreds of vendors and thousands of visitors turning out for this unusual Ghost Month tradition.

From up in the sky, streams of lit-up streets cast a glow in the night. Huge crowds move up and down the road at this bustling intersection.

Stands from all over the island have set up shop in the middle of the road, and to the sides. Everyone is busy as bees, and the area is filled with the sound of meat and veggies getting prepped, the crackling of the grill, the sizzling of a stove and the bubbling of the deep fryer.

- How many servings did you prep?
- About 500.
- Do you think you’ll sell out?
- I think so.

Vendors hope to sell out. This annual market is one-night-only, and marks the closing of the gates to the underworld. By daybreak everything will be gone.

- How much did you prep?
- About NT$100,000 worth.
- Do you think you’ll sell out?
- We’re on it!
- Are you confident?
- For sure!

For one night on the evening of the 29th day of the 7th lunar month, aka, the last day of the Ghost Month, the roads around Yuanli Train Station become a night market packed with 400 stands. The tradition arose from a ritual the retailers used to hold in the area to mark the end of the month. Now, thousands upon thousands of people flock to this must-see market.

Chang Yun-ming
Longtime Yuanli resident
There was puppet shows, and then we got Taiwanese opera shows. Then we got stage shows. It only got bigger as time went by.

The sheer amount of festival-goers and busy stands creates a lively atmosphere that brings out locals and people from far and wide. It gets so jam-packed that the crowds spill out to streets nearby.

- How do you feel about the flow?
- It’s a little crowded.
- Did you get to eat everything you wanted to?
- Yeah. It’s just once a year after all.

The night-time event is only getting bigger with time. This edition, the township added extra magic with 2,000 colored lanterns near the train station, creating a festive atmosphere that can even be seen from the sky. The decorations will stay until National Day.

#ghibli #spiritedaway #nightmarket #taiwaneats #magical

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

2026-09-11

European Parliament VP confirms Hsiao Bi-khim has arrived in Italy

European Parliament Vice President Pina Picierno has confirmed that Taiwan Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim has arrived in Italy. Hsiao is now heading to the island of Ventotene to attend the Democracy and Freedom Conference. And Picierno is sending a blunt message to Beijing, saying it has no right to interfere with who they welcome to the island. Let’s hear more.

Pina Picierno
Vice President of European Parliament
Not long ago, I welcomed Taiwan’s vice president at the port, and I believe that sent a very important message. Here in Ventotene in particular, we need to take an even firmer stance and make it clear that no one has the right to decide who can or cannot be welcomed to Ventotene, an island that helped shape the future and the cause of freedom. There’s one regime in particular that has no right to make that decision.

Wang Ting-yu
Lawmaker (DPP)
The ROC Taiwan is being seen by the world. It’s a very meaningful breakthrough. It shows that the EU and Italy are taking an increasingly positive approach toward our country. The fact that Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim and Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung were able to enter Italy and attend this major event shows that relations between Taiwan and Italy are warming.

Fan Yun
Lawmaker (DPP)
The Ventotene Democracy and Freedom Conference is being held in a very significant location in Italy. Ventotene is a small island that was once used to imprison intellectuals who stood up against fascism. So the island has come to symbolize the spirit of defending freedom and democracy.

The visit has drawn widespread media attention, with Taiwan’s Presidential Office also confirming that Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung is accompanying Hsiao on the trip. The Presidential Office says Hsiao will explain the details after she returns to Taiwan. But her successful visit to Europe as Taiwan’s sitting vice president is already being seen as a major breakthrough in Taiwan’s diplomatic outreach.

#diplomacy #ventotene #italy #taiwan #蕭美琴

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2026-09-11

Runaway pet sika deer strolls Kaohsiung’s streets for 6 hours

A sika deer named “Little Flower” went on a big adventure in Kaohsiung this week. Looking like Bambi in the flesh, the hoofed mammal made its great escape at 3am, and continued to keep a distance from its owner and even the police during a game of chase that lasted for 6 hours. But thanks to a tranquilizer dart courtesy of the local animal protection office, Little Flower was trapped and returned to its human’s home.

This sika deer is strolling alongside a city street, scanning its surroundings. A large number of people in the city saw the four-legged creature, which begs the question: just where did this deer come from?

And here comes the animal’s owner, who’s dashing forward with a leash in his right hand. The man is practically begging his furry friend to come home, yet this hoofed mammal sprints off, showing that it isn’t in the mood to be obedient.

After receiving a call, the police arrived to help the owner put an end to this, as they feared the deer possibly might run onto a busy road. All in all, this game of catch ended up lasting longer than an hour.

No one can run forever, especially after getting hit by a tranquilizer dart. The local animal protection office caught the 2-year-old sika deer a bit after 9am. Six hours earlier, the timid herbivore made its great escape from its owner’s home in Cianjhen District. This deer strolled down many urban streets, and when it stood still some people mistook it for a sculpture.

Owner of sika deer
Said deer got spooked
The little one didn’t get here until after 6am. The deer actually was near our home for a time until it got chased by a vehicle or spooked, something like that. That’s why my deer didn’t know how to get back home.

Kuo Ming-chin
Kaohsiung Animal Protection Office
For the owner of a pet, if the animal is on a road or public place due to negligent behavior on the part of the owner, then the offender can be punished with a fine ranging from NT$3,000 to NT$15,000.

Despite it not being against the law to raise sika deer, the city’s animal protection office advises against raising large herbivore animals in urban areas. Fortunately for motorists and the deer known as Little Flower, this amusing incident didn’t turn into a car crash.

#deerinheadlights #Kaohsiung #naturefindsaway #sikadeer #cute #Bambi

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2026-09-11