Chinese motorcycle brand's Taiwan import blocked as smuggling
Taiwan's government seized a Chinese-made heavy motorcycle that was brought in as parts and rebuilt, and the company's chairman is now vowing to keep shipping bikes "until unification" — a political jab officials called hard to understand.
- Taiwan bans Chinese heavy motorcycles and engines outright, so the bike was taken apart, shipped in pieces, and reassembled locally to get around the rule.
- Customs impounded it, and the economics ministry says the importer admitted he knew reassembling the parts into a whole bike was not allowed.
- Zhang Xue, who runs the brand, says he will pay the owner's legal fees and keep sending replacement bikes until Taiwan and China unify.
- Taiwan's ministry called that defense of illegal smuggling hard to understand and said the case is now under formal review.
Outlook: Taiwan plans tighter cross-agency checks at the border and in the market, so more of these piece-by-piece import schemes are likely to be caught.