China Customs. [Photo/VCG] Entry-exit inspection and quarantine authorities across the nation have intercepted an increasing number of alien species and exotic pets that can pose serious risks to safety and environmental integrity, China's top authority for entry-exit inspection and quarantine said. Authorities are remaining alert for illegal entry of such animals as spiders, tortoises and snakes, which are sent to China mostly through mailed parcels. They said they will take more measures to tighten supervision and hold law violators accountable, according to the General Administration of Customs. Banned animals, plants and their products were found in more than 42,000 mail and parcel deliveries at ports last year, and harmful species were spotted in 5,147 of them, the administration said. Although most banned products intercepted were meat, dairy, seeds and sprouts, illegal mailing of live animals became more rampant, spurred by the booming popularity of exotic pets in China, the administration said. The variety of such animals intercepted at ports increased last year compared with 2016. Most alien species were bought by individuals or pet business owners from sources in other countries, or through exchanges, the administration said. Major alien species intercepted by quarantine authorities last year included tortoises, spiders, scorpions, snakes, frogs and various types of insects, it said. The creatures came from almost all of China's major trading partners, and were found at all major ports on the Chinese mainland, the administration said. In general, alien species have strong reproductive abilities, and are strongly adaptable to different environments, it said. They may have no natural enemies in China, so they are likely to reproduce in great numbers and pose serious threats to indigenous species and will damage China's ecology, biodiversity and agricultural production if they are not properly taken care of and are set free. Many of these animals are also carriers of diseases that could cause outbreaks among plants and animals in China, it said. In addition, some species, such as the Brazilian killer scorpion, poison dart frogs and other poisonous frogs can be dangerous to the public and may even be used by terrorists, the administration said. All live animals except dogs and cats are banned from being carried by passengers or sent via mail services to the mainland, unless approved by authorities and accompanied by official quarantine certificates from their country, according to Chinese regulations. Among pets, only dogs and cats can be carried to China, and each passenger can only carry one cat or one dog each time. The dog or cat must be quarantined after arrival, according to the regulations. Keeping track of the flow of exotic pets has been a challenge for authorities as most are light and are mailed from abroad in small amounts, the administration said. Tricks to evade supervision are constantly being refined, and in most cases the parcels containing the pets are disguised as other items in various forms, posing great difficulties in inspections, it said. To make the situation worse, booming cross-border e-commerce has resulted in a rapidly increasing amount of mail and parcels each year, forcing inspection and quarantine authorities in many places to work 24 hours a day, the administration said. Zhu Shuifang, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, said with intensified globalization and more frequent international exchanges, cargo and mailed parcels have increased rapidly, posing great challenges in ensuring biosafety while allowing swift entry of goods. With so many goods, it is not possible to inspect every parcel, he said. Advanced technologies can play a more important role in improving efficiency in inspection of harmful species to prevent loss in trade, agriculture, health and ecology. The rapidly developing big data technology can be better applied in this regard, he said. For example, big data analysis can help single out passengers, cargo and mailed items that are more likely to bring in or contain banned items, Zhu said. More government investment is needed to spur technological research and utilization in entry-exit inspection and quarantine. The administration has taken a series of measures to improve supervision and law enforcement, including installing 37 advanced computerized tomography machines at key inspection sites for mail and express parcels, it said. The administration will also improve cooperation with other government departments such as border control, tourism, agriculture and forestry to establish a mechanism for joint prevention and control of illegal entry of banned items to ensure biosafety and national security, it said. Individuals who have carried or mailed banned animals, plants or their products to the mainland and tried to evade quarantine two or more times within a year will face criminal investigations by police or prosecution authorities in China, according to an amended regulation adopted in April 2017 by the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security in an effort to check violations. Violators face penalties of up to three years in prison and fines in serious cases, such as when violations result in widespread disease outbreaks, according to China's Criminal Law. festival braceletsglow wristbandscustom wristbands no minimumslap wristbandsthe wristband factorycustom made rubber braceletsrubber arm bands
China released on Tuesday an overall plan on the development and management of national parks, which calls for the strictest measures to protect the country's natural beauty and pass it on to generations to come. By 2020, China will formally set up a batch of national parks and establish a new national department to take charge of the comprehensive management of these parks, according to the plan. By 2030, the system will be further improved and the management more efficient, it said. As one of the most important areas in natural reserves, the national parks will receive the strictest protection, according to the plan jointly released by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, China's Cabinet. "The national parks are owned by the State, shared by the people and passed on to future generations ... as precious natural legacies," the plan said. No construction or exploitation of resources is allowed inside national parks, and any violation, including illegal mining, discharging pollutants or hunting, will be punished, the plan said. It said the inhabitants of the core regions of the national parks will be gradually relocated. The central government will conduct regular monitoring and build databases for the natural resources and environment situation of the natural parks, and a third party will be invited to conduct assessments. The central government also will assess the performance of local officials and their protection of the parks, and anyone who fails to perform their duties will receive severe punishments during and even beyond their terms. "The release of the plan shows that China has preliminarily completed the top design of the national park system and the ongoing pilot projects are progressing well," said Wang Yi, vice-president of the Institute of Policy and Management at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. China established 10 trial national parks as pilot projects in 2013, with a combined area of over 170,000 square kilometers involving 13 provincial regions such as Qinghai, Sichuan and Heilongjiang. These parks are expected to undergo assessments in the coming years and could be named national parks. Some of the parks are devoted to wild species, such as the giant panda in Southwest China or the Siberian tiger and leopard in the Northeast. Some others are for the protection of fragile, yet critical, natural environments, such as the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers, China's three major waterways. Still others are for historic relics like the Great Wall. Su Yang, a researcher with the Development Research Center of the State Council, applauded the overall plan since it clearly defines the national parks and clarifies the responsibilities of the central government and provincial governments. The plan says funding could be from the central and provincial governments, and encourages social investment.
