China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Customs seizes fake soccer merchandise
In a national campaign against fake merchandise related to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, customs officials in Guangdong province have confiscated more than 130,000 items that violate intellectual property rights.
Guangzhou Customs detected 4,370 pieces of shoddy goods, including footballs bearing FIFA World Cup insignia, as well as jerseys with Adidas or Nike brand logos, in a delivery bound for Tanzania in April.
The case led officers to more fake products, including jerseys and shirts bearing FIFA marks, as well as clothing logos, according to a statement by Guangzhou Customs.
Huangpu Customs in Guangzhou detected 4,500 sets of jerseys being exported to Malaysia by a company in Nanchang, Jiangxi province.
The jerseys, wrapped in plastic bags and hidden in a container behind 30,000 pieces of plain black label-free jerseys, had FIFA World Cup Russia logos and Adidas labels.
All the jerseys were of low quality, with shabby packaging and poorly printed labels, officials said.
Many sports-related products tend to surface before high-profile events such as the Olympics, FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship, according to the Guangdong sub-administration of China Customs.
To protect the intellectual property rights of FIFA World Cup Russia, China’s General Administration of Customs whipped up a campaign between March and June against shoddy goods. In Guangdong, customs officials have worked with their counterparts in Hong Kong and Macao.
Manufacturers should request intellectual property authorization documents when taking orders, according to customs officers.
Meanwhile, Shanghai customs also confiscated more than 130,000 pieces of fake FIFA World Cup Russia products, including 2,470 soccer balls exported by a company in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, to Colombia at Yangshan port.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia tournament kicked off on Thursday and will run until July 15.
Chinese citizens will be able to enter and leave ports and clear customs within 30 minutes starting June 18, the State Immigration Administration said on Thursday.
The administration said it was setting the service target to make entry and exit services more efficient and convenient.
“Some large airports and some land ports adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao receive a large number of passengers during weekends and holidays. Passengers often wait a long time to enter and leave the ports,” said Qu Yunhai, deputy director of the State Immigration Administration.
People spend about an hour or more standing in line for entry, exit and customs clearances at some ports during peak times, the bureau found.
“It’s really exciting news for regular travelers,” said Zhang Yizhi, 32, who works for Amazon. “I have to travel from China to the United States a lot for work. It drives me nuts to stand in line for a very long time when I am already exhausted after flying for hours. This measure will bring greater convenience for people.”
Larger ports of entry that might find it more difficult to meet the time target should open special channels for Chinese citizens to speed entry and exit procedures, the administration said.
China has 305 ports of entry for land, sea and air travelers, and 302 border inspection stations. Thirty-five of the ports average more than 5,000 passengers a day; 19 average over 10,000; and seven handle more than 50,000.
The administration said it will further promote electronic entry and exit certificates and accelerate the construction of self-service inbound and outbound customs clearance channels for Chinese citizens.
“So far China has more than 1,170 self-service inbound and outbound customs clearance channels in 70 ports and will build a total of 1,700 by the end of this year to allow half the passengers to clear customs in a shorter time,” said Shi Zhenping, chief of the Border Defense Administration.
The administration will also coordinate local governments to reconstruct and expand border inspection sites that restrict the efficiency of entry and exit and customs clearance, Shi added.
The administration said the system would be flexible and rational, and scientific methods would be used to make entry, exit and customs clearances more efficient for foreigners, too.
Chen Bin, an official with the administration, said the number of foreigners entering and leaving the country has remained relatively stable in recent years. The time for foreigners to enter and leave is no more than what they spend in other international ports, and they usually don’t have the problem of standing in line for a long time, Chen said.