Sent from China and Simply Processed to a Third Country
'Regular Mail' Makes Sender Tracking Difficult
The 'suspicious packages' sent from Taiwan to various locations across the country are expected to be difficult to trace to the sender, as they are mail items that simply passed through Taiwan.
According to logistics authorities and industry analysis on the 26th, the suspicious international mail initially reported to have originated from Taiwan was actually identified as passing through Taiwan from China. This confusion is attributed to Taiwan's postal intermediary system called 'Huazhenyou.'
Taiwan's postal authority, Chunghwa Post, uses the Huazhenyou system, which sends cargo arriving from China and other countries to a third country after only simple safety inspections such as X-ray checks, without bringing the cargo into the domestic area.
By using this intermediary service, shipping costs and time can be saved, and it is reported that the main customers are Chinese logistics companies with many overseas shipments, such as AliExpress.
The reason why the envelopes of the mail items sent in large quantities to the country this time all bear the phrase "P.O.Box 100561-003777, Taipei Taiwan" is due to this system. It is analyzed that this phrase is not the actual sender's address but a Taiwan Post Office P.O. Box number.
On the labels of international mail recently sent to the country, an English explanation was also found stating, "Sent from China and forwarded through Taiwan without any change in contents."
Taiwan authorities explained that these packages were sent as cargo mail from Shenzhen, China, passed through Chunghwa Post, and were then sent to Korea.
The use of 'ordinary mail,' which does not leave delivery records, also makes it difficult to trace the sender.
International mail consists of three types: ordinary mail such as letters and printed materials, parcels for sending goods, and international express mail service (EMS), which is known to be the fastest and safest.
Among these, ordinary mail is the cheapest and does not leave delivery records. In addition to letters and documents, small and light items weighing less than 2kg can also be sent. If classified as ultra-lightweight under 100g, the cost is the lowest. This is also why toothpicks and cotton pads were delivered domestically.
A Twitter user's tweet capture (left) showing a photo of a Taiwan-origin postal item containing mysterious seeds shipped to Canada in July 2020, and an unidentified Taiwan-origin postal item reported on the morning of the 21st in Jusan-dong, Dong-gu, Daejeon (right). It can be confirmed that the sender's address on the invoice attached to both postal items (red square box) is the same. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Meanwhile, there is also a possibility that the large volume of international mail sent to the country is a 'brushing scam,' where unordered items are sent indiscriminately to manipulate shopping mall sales records.
In 2020, mysterious seeds were delivered in Taiwan-origin mail to the United States, Canada, and other countries, causing controversy. The same phrase "P.O.Box 100561-003777, Taipei Taiwan" was also confirmed in those cases.
At that time, concerns were raised in the U.S. that it could be a Chinese-origin 'biochemical terror,' but the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that "there is no evidence to consider it anything other than a 'brushing scam.'"
Investigative authorities are considering the possibility that the suspicious international mail delivered domestically is a brushing scam and are checking whether the address used by the sender of the mail corresponds to personal information leaked through hacking or other crimes. The police are examining whether the sender can be charged with unauthorized use of personal information under the Information and Communications Network Act.
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