◎ Chen Yuxiang
In the smuggling incident involving heavy-duty machine players assembling complete vehicles embargoed in China by importing parts in batches, the Customs Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Finance, in accordance with the provisions of the current "Taiwan Area and Mainland Area People's Relations Ordinance", seized the illegally assembled vehicles involved and transferred them to justice. This law enforcement action indeed accurately demonstrates the government's determination to maintain the rule of law in border trade and put an end to illegal smuggling of goods. However, Chinese businesses used political language to hype the situation afterwards, claiming that "cars will be delivered until reunification." This extreme rhetoric, which attempts to use capital subsidies to cover illegal smuggling and openly challenges Taiwan's border management authority, is essentially a provocation to Taiwan's democracy, rule of law and market order. It is also the bottom line of supervision that the competent authorities cannot give in to.
A smuggling incident involving heavy-duty motorcycle players importing Chinese motorcycle parts in batches and assembling embargoed complete vehicles was investigated and the illegally assembled vehicles involved were seized according to law and transferred to justice. The picture shows Zhang Xue’s motorcycle. (Picture taken from Zhang Xue’s official website)
Due to industrial protection, border security and vehicle inspection quality, Taiwan has not opened up the import of finished motorcycles (CBU) made in China for a long time. Some players adopt the CKD/SKD method in an attempt to circumvent the customs inspection and control of physical items. This essentially constitutes an illegal act of falsely reporting the import name and evading control. The direct use of private vehicles without national safety inspection (ARTC) and environmental emission certification on the road not only substantially destroys the fair competition environment in the domestic used car and imported car markets, but also poses a serious invisible threat to road traffic safety and the rights and interests of passers-by. If the industry packages illegal smuggling activities as a friendship between car buddies, or even attempts to "pay legal fees" to divert the focus of smuggling, it completely confuses the most basic dividends of the rule of law in market operations.
If the central competent authority wants to accurately safeguard national border trade disciplines and maintain vehicle safety lines, it needs to implement the following two specific packages:
First, improve the "vehicle component border risk control and real-time joint prevention mechanism" between the Customs and the Ministry of Transport: The Customs Administration of the Ministry of Finance should dynamically connect import declaration data with the Highway Bureau of the Ministry of Transport, and establish an automated warning and actual acceptance review mechanism for individuals or accounts that intensively import core components of specific brands (such as frames, engine bodies, electronic controllers, etc.) in the short term to cut off the gray channel of smuggling assembly from the early stage of the process.
Second, take a strict inventory of the legal mechanism for "road inspections and confiscation of unverified assembled vehicles": the police department and the traffic brigades of various counties and cities should strengthen joint inspections and directly implement confiscation and destruction sanctions in accordance with the "Road Traffic Management Punishment Regulations" for smuggled assembled vehicles that have not obtained certificates, are privately listed or have forged license plates, and use high-intensity regulations to intimidate resistance and cut off the space for illegally imported vehicles to exist.
Faced with the technical hype and political language of Chinese industry players, the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Transport must use strong legal review and border inspections to cut off the gray channel for illegal parts smuggling. The picture shows the curator meeting with the founder of Zhang Xue Motorcycle in China. (Picture taken from curator Notorious YT)
A sustainable and disciplined market environment needs to be based on stable and just legal rules. Seizing illegally imported vehicles is a just move to correct trade smuggling and ensure the safety of legal businesses and passers-by. The extreme words and promises of Chinese companies cannot hide the fact that their products violate Taiwan's trade regulations. When the government can face border management loopholes with a pragmatic and tough attitude, and demonstrate law enforcement courage when implementing special laws, Taiwan's dignity of the rule of law and vehicle safety defenses will not collapse in the political calculations of individual industry players.
This border control incident caused by smuggled assembled vehicles is Taiwan’s uncompromising line of defense in defending the rule of law in trade and border security. The convenience of vehicle trade must not be based on illegal smuggling and evasion of inspection. Faced with the technical hype and political language of Chinese industry players, the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Transport must confront it head-on and cut off the gray channel for illegal parts smuggling with strong legal review and border spot checks. Only by returning this supervision mechanism, which is related to national security and market order, to the principles of rationality, rigor and fairness, and making every customs declaration and inspection amenable to practical testing, can we truly protect the rights and interests of domestic legitimate car dealers and road users, and ensure that Taiwan's trade environment is on the right track with the support of the system to be healthy, sustainable and dignified by the rule of law.
