Issues of Law

As introduced by the Yearbook of Republic of China:

Legal Framework

Trafficking in certain wildlife products in Taiwan is proscribed by the Cultural Heritage Preservation Law, enacted in 1981, and the Wildlife Conservation Law. The former mandates the creation of a system of nature reserves and designates 11 species of rare plants and 23 species of rare animals for protection. The latter classifies another 1,045 species of rare flora and fauna into three levels of protection. Species listed either as "endangered" (meaning that their population size is at or below a critical level) or as "rare and valuable" (referring to endemic species or those with a very low population) may not be disturbed, abused, hunted, captured, traded, exchanged, owned, killed, or processed. Species considered to "require conservation measures" may be utilized once the population has reached a sustainable level as determined by the Council of Agriculture.

The original Wildlife Conservation Law had a number of shortcomings. It lacked provisions for effective punishment of holders of unregistered rhino horns or tiger bones, mandated no punishments for people who falsely claim that their products contain materials derived from endangered species, and was lax on wildlife smuggling. A newly revised Wildlife Conservation Law went into effect on October 29, 1994. The revised law is among the most severe in Asia: The trade or display for commercial purposes of protected, endangered, or rare and valuable wildlife products, as well as the unauthorized import or export of live protected wildlife or products made from protected wildlife, is punishable by a prison term of between six months and five years and/or a fine of between US$9,000 and US$45,000. Habitual offenders face prison terms of between one and seven years and/or fines of between US$15,000 and US$75,000. A person who falsely labels merchandise as containing protected wildlife or protected wildlife products shall be subject to a fine of between US$4,500 and US$22,500.

Further progress was achieved with the promulgation of the Wildlife Conservation Law Implementation Regulations on April 29, 1995. The regulations stipulate that the Wildlife Conservation Advisory Committee shall review the classification of endangered species at least once a year.

Enforcement of Wildlife Conservation Laws

The ROC government has redoubled its efforts to investigate and punish violators of the Wildlife Conservation Law and other conservation-related legislation. A six-member Wildlife Protection Unit (WPU), set up on November 26, 1993, is in charge of investigations. The WPU is assisted by more than 350 police officers who have completed special training in wildlife conservation. Since it was established, the unit has conducted extensive undercover operations and overseen investigations into more than 10,640 traditional Chinese pharmacies.

1997 Wildlife Conservation Law Enforcement

The Taiwan Provincial Government has continued to coordinate the implementation of the Wildlife Conservation Law at the local government level by maintaining frequent contact and organizing training workshops and conservation-related activities. All local governments have established joint enforcement task forces, which coordinate affairs among different agencies at the county level and hold review meetings to improve enforcement efforts.

In 1997, local governments investigated at least 2,796 wildlife-related cases and found 220 violations of the Wildlife Conservation Law. Customs officials uncovered 70 cases of wildlife product smuggling. At the same time, local police investigated 80 violations of the Wildlife Conservation Law, all of which were referred to the prosecutor's office for prosecution. During the same period, the WPU investigated 37 wildlife-related cases itself. Eight district offices of the Taiwan Forestry Bureau of Taiwan Provincial Government made 212 investigations and seized 2,328 illegal hunting, trapping, and fishing gears.

The Coast Guard Command, local police officers, customs agents, and state investigators are working together to enforce the Wildlife Conservation Law and to confiscate smuggled wildlife and wildlife products at airports, seaports, along the coast, and in open waters. For example, the Keelung Customs Bureau, in its largest case of 1996, seized six intact ivory tusks, 455 pieces of ivory, and 430 pieces of ivory chop materials on July 25. The Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau (MJIB) conducted an investigation and discovered that these ivory products came from Nigeria. In another case, on March 22, 1997, the Coast Guard Command and the WPU jointly conducted an investigation in Tainan City and found one complete rhino horn (128 g) and 15 pieces of rhino horn mixed together with horn powder (70 g).