Snail (phonetic “厶”, yes, although it seems to be the phonetic character of the teacher, but the exact pronunciation is “厶”) noodle is a snack from Liuzhou, Guangxi Province, China. The rice noodles made by the unique method of this place are used as the staple food , add sour bamboo shoots, fungus, peanuts, fried bean curd, day lily, green vegetables and other ingredients, as well as a moderate hot and sour taste and the soup of boiled freshwater stone snails.
According to people who have eaten it, although the smell is not good at first, the spicy, fishy, sour and special taste after eating will make people unable to stop gobbling. However, “food”, which should belong to the common topic of human civilization, caused an uproar because of a small episode.
Snail powder reduced to United Front delicacy?
With the advancement of the Internet and 3C products, more and more people will introduce the specialties of their hometown and country through selfie videos, and snail noodles are no exception.
In an Internet search engine, if you use TikTok or Xiaohongshu plus snail noodles as keywords to search, you can find a lot of short videos about the taste evaluation and brand recommendations of snail noodles; except for Chinese spouses who immigrated to Taiwan , brought the local food culture into Taiwan, and some local netizens also began to come into contact with this kind of special snacks under the strong output of China’s aforementioned audio and video. Some open stores directly in Taiwan, or obtain them through imports.
Just in January, at the beginning of the new year in 2023, a snail noodle manufacturer was disclosed by Tainan City Councilor Li Zonglin. The person” and other words were considered by the congressman as China’s psychological united front against Taiwan, and he asked relevant agencies to investigate as soon as possible.
Afterwards, the competent authority, the Bureau of International Trade of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, came forward to explain that my country has not opened the import of snail powder made in China. If there is an act of private import, it is a smuggling act; such snail powder on the market should be sold as soon as possible. off the shelf. Moreover, if smuggling or false reporting is found, in addition to being confiscated and fined, import rights may even be suspended, and in serious cases, the manufacturer’s registration qualification will be revoked.
As soon as the decision of the Bureau of International Trade of the Ministry of Economic Affairs was launched, many public opinions criticized “It’s just food, is it necessary to suppress it?” .
Some media also found out that President Tsai Ing-wen once said during the chairmanship of the MAC that “I am Chinese“The words were used as the basis for counterattacking the Bureau of International Trade of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The author here does not want to discuss ideology, but just wants to calmly analyze from the perspective of laws and regulations, what are the reasons for the investigation and prohibition by the International Trade Bureau.
After looking up the relevant laws and regulations, we can actually find that the reason for the ban by the competent authority is not related to unification and independence or national issues, but only to ensure the smooth trade and food safety of our country.
Legal Basis for Prohibited Imports
According to our country“Regulations on the Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area”According to the regulations, as long as the Chinese goods imported or brought into Taiwan, they will be regarded as imported goods in terms of legal evaluation.
The inspection, quarantine, management, and corresponding tariffs of such items must be handled in accordance with the laws and regulations related to imported items. Therefore, since all Chinese goods entering Taiwan are regarded as “imports”, it means that such imports should comply with all import-related laws and regulations.
In detail, in the general normal international trade system, as long as the goods pass through the border, whether they are imported or exported, the government should open ports, airports or post offices to enter and exit, and they need to declare to the customs, otherwise they constitute smuggled goods import and export behavior.
As the competent authority for trade and smuggling investigations, the Customs’ law enforcement basis in my country is“Customs Anti-smuggling Regulations”.likethe regulationsIn other words, if the snail powder imported from China evades inspection, evades customs duties, or evades control, and the manufacturer does not declare to the customs, but directly transports the goods into the country, it constitutes the so-called import of smuggled goods. Customs and other law enforcement officers can follow the “Customs Anti-smuggling Regulations” and other laws and regulations to launch “seizure, seizure or confiscation”1。
In this regard, the Trade Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairsreiterate, China-made snail noodles have “never” been allowed to be imported, so if there are commercially available products, it is smuggled or falsely reported. In other words, cross-strait exchanges and trade in goods are clearly defined, and mainland China-made vermicelli products, such as Chinese-style noodles, wide flat noodles, and rice vermicelli, are not allowed to be imported, and this has always been the case with snail noodles. This is because the Ministry of Economic Affairs considers the situation of domestic production in order to protect domestic companies and avoid market crowding out and unfair competition.
Of course, if the snail powder imported without permission also contains medicinal ingredients, preserved animal body tissues, and alcohol ingredients, it may also violate the law.“Pharmaceutical Affairs Law”、The Wildlife Conservation Actand“Tobacco and Alcohol Control Law”these corresponding laws and regulations still have provisions on punishment, so you should not be careless2。
Out-of-focus snail powder import issue
From the brief legal introduction above, readers can clearly understand that the reason why the import of snail powder is prohibited is that the laws and regulations proposed by the relevant ministries and competent authorities “have nothing to do with the United Front issue”; On the issue, it has aroused public opinion across Taiwan, but in the end it still has nothing to do with the prohibition of imports.
Specific public opinion leads to “fear of united front”, so the saying that pasta is removed from the shelves, obviously does not understand the current trade norms. Therefore, it can be said that Tainan City Councilor Li Zonglin’s determination that the packaging of snail noodles has caused doubts about the United Front has further prompted the competent authorities to notice that the import of snail noodles is currently not in compliance with legal regulations. Therefore, the “United Front Issue” is only the reason for the attention of the competent authorities, and has nothing to do with the final result of my country’s ban on the import of snail powder.
This development of public opinion once again demonstrates the importance of “media literacy”: in the face of the information constructed by the media, it is best for readers to turn passive into active, not only rely on the media, but also actively “select and compare” “message. Such self-consciousness is the core concept of media literacy.
- Text: Su Yilun, a graduate of the Finance and Taxation Law Group of the National Taiwan University Law Institute, is keen to pay attention to current affairs issues, and occasionally writes articles, hoping to convey his own values through the convenience of the Internet. If it can arouse resonance in the hearts of readers, it will be Biggest achievement.
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