Cross-strait tensions ‘a barrier to mainland entry for Taiwanese exports’
Message on substandard products not getting through, quality chief says
Cross-strait political tensions have led to breakdowns in official communications and the rejection of a large amount of Taiwanese food and cosmetics imports at mainland ports, a top quality inspection official said on Tuesday in Beijing.
The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said roughly 175 batches of food and cosmetics from the island were destroyed or returned in January for failing to meet standards. The import problems ranged from packaging to insufficient documentation.
The Taiwanese products accounted for 43 per cent of all those denied entry that month.
Administration director Zhi Shuping said the authority had not imposed stricter standards, but rather political factors were to blame.
“The present Taiwan administration has not acknowledged the 1992 consensus yet,” Zhi said on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress.
The consensus is an understanding reached in 1992 that both sides acknowledge there is one China but have their own interpretation of what that means.
“We used to have a lot of cooperation but now this has been obstructed. Some information can’t go through smoothly as it did before,” Zhi said.
Beijing has cut official ties with Taipei over Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s reluctance to acknowledge the 1992 consensus since she came into office in May last year on the ticket of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party.
Beijing says the consensus must be the political foundation for any dialogue.
Tsai’s silence on the consensus has deepened Beijing’s suspicion of her position on independence for the island.
Beijing deems Taiwan as a part of China to be united with the mainland at some point.
Zhi said the new administration in Taipei had severely damaged peaceful relations across the Taiwan Strait and seriously obstructed the quarantine operations between Taiwan and the mainland.
Last year 722 batches of food and cosmetics from Taiwan were rejected at mainland ports, accounting for 23.7 per cent of all products denied entry last year. The rejection rate for products from Taiwan was very high, Zhi said.
“We gave feedback whenever we found a substandard batch, but the rectification process was not in place … We did not impose stricter standards on Taiwanese products,” he said.
He said Beijing treated Taiwan like a brother but when it came to principle of safety “everyone in the world is treated the same”.
