China crackdown on illegal carrying and mailing of seeds and seedlings

In recent years, "adorable" succulents have captured the hearts of many consumers, and succulent varieties from abroad have begun pouring into China. Seemingly harmless succulents actually conceal biological risks and can easily cause alien biological invasions, harming the ecological environment and safety. In response, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine planned and carried out an eight-month "Green Bud" special campaign.

The reporter recently learned from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine that from March to October this year, inspection and quarantine agencies nationwide intercepted more than 22,000 batches of plant propagation materials such as plant seeds and seedlings illegally carried or mailed into the country, with a total weight of 80.6 tons. From these, 14,000 batches of harmful organisms were detected, and the detection rate of harmful organisms exceeded 64%.

Chen Maosheng, deputy director of the Animal and Plant Quarantine Supervision Department of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, introduced that the expansion of foreign exchanges such as business and tourism, especially the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce such as "overseas online shopping," has opened a convenient door for the illegal carrying and mailing of seeds and seedlings.

Chen Maosheng, deputy director of the Animal and Plant Department of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine:

One is that they truly do not know that the country has such regulations, nor do they know how much harm animal and plant products, especially seeds and seedlings, can cause to the country's biosafety and ecological security once brought in. They truly do not know. Another is that they do know the country has the entry-exit animal and plant quarantine law and related environmental protection laws and regulations, but they take the risk because they hold a fluke mentality: one, customs, our inspection and quarantine, and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine may not necessarily be able to detect it; another, what I bring in may not necessarily cause harm, and I really do like it. The third aspect is indeed relatively malicious: they understand that the country has laws and regulations, but for their own interests, for the interests of their company, or for the interests of a small group of people, they deliberately evade inspection and quarantine and bring prohibited goods in.

Since the launch of the "Green Bud" special campaign, inspection and quarantine agencies nationwide have, on the one hand, intensified port inspection efforts and extensively carried out legal publicity, and on the other hand, established relevant "blacklists" to resolutely crack down on lawbreakers. Since the second half of this year, the phenomenon of illegally carrying and mailing plant seeds and seedlings at various ports has decreased significantly, and the "Green Bud" special campaign has achieved notable results.