【英语科技】家庭主妇偷带iPad入关被拘

Chinese housewives carrying dozens of iPads into China can only confirm what the U.S. war on drugs has already shown: Border control can't fully staunch the flow of a product in huge demand.

Customs officials in Shenzhen, a southern Chinese city just across the border from Hong Kong, recently caught 14 housewives trying to carry 88 iPads and 340 mobile phones into China, in a bust worth 950,000 yuan, or roughly $143,000, the Guangzhou Daily reported Wednesday.

One woman had 65 mobile phones strapped around her waist and over 20 more in a handbag, according to the newspaper.

The women, now detained, were earning about 200 yuan, or roughly $30, for each run across the border, the report said. The paper cited a Customs official as saying smugglers have increasingly tried to avoid detection by recruiting Chinese residents without criminal records to carry the goods.

Apple already sells the Wi-Fi version of the iPad in China, but the 3G version isn't available yet on the mainland. Buyers who want 3G-capable iPads must get the device from overseas â ' fueling demand for mules to carry the tablets from Hong Kong to China.

China has reportedly made that job tougher in recent weeks by collecting a taxon iPads carried into the country, even if they are for personal use. In a report posted on the China Customs website ( in Chinese), an official said the practice doesn't violate World Trade Organization rules. Customs didn't respond on Wednesday to faxed questions about how its border tax rules are being applied to products besides the iPad, like laptops.

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

The iPad isn't the only thing travelers are trying to sneak trough Chinese Customs. According to a reportin the South China Morning Post, Customs officials in Shenzhen and Zhuhai have apprehended more than 1,000 professional smugglers in a month-long campaign against the smuggling of tax-free luxury and electronic goods, including diamond rings and Chanel perfume as well as iPads and Nokia phones.

中国家庭主妇带着几十个iPad企图在中国入关只能说明一个问题：边境管制不可能完全拦截一个有巨大需求的产品流入国内。美国跨境贩毒屡禁不止也是同样的道理。

Bloomberg News 《广州日报》周三报道称，毗邻香港的中国南方城市深圳其海关官员近日在一次突击搜查中查获一起走私案，有14名家庭主妇试图将88个iPad和340部手机带入中国境内，涉案金额达95万元(约合14.3万美元)。

报道称，其中一名妇女将65部手机藏绑腰间，另外20多部放在手提袋中。

报道称，这些妇女已被拘留，她们带一次货收200元人民币(约合30美元)左右。报道援引一位海关关员的话说，走私分子为逃避海关监管，招募没有违规记录的内地居民携带走私品入境。

苹果(Apple)的Wi-Fi版iPad已在中国销售，但其3G版还未推向中国大陆市场。因此希望买到3G版iPad的人须从国外购买，从而催生了对越境带货的“水客”的需求，这些人将3G版iPad从香港带入内地。

中国不久前对带入境的全部iPad(包括用于个人使用)实行征税，据说此举让“水客”的生意在这几周变得更加艰难。一位官员在中国海关网站上一份中文报告里说，征税没有违反世界贸易组织(World Trade Organization)规则。对于以传真方式提出的问题──中国边境税收规则对iPad以外其它产品包括笔记本电脑等的适用情况如何，中国海关周三对此没有给出应答。

苹果发言人拒绝置评。

iPad并不是游客偷偷带入中国境内的唯一物品。《南华早报》(South China Morning Post)一篇报道称，深圳和珠海的海关人员在为期一个月的打击走私免税奢侈品和电子产品过程中，已拘留了上千名职业走私客，查获物品包括钻戒、香奈儿(Chanel)香水、iPad和诺基亚(Nokia)手机等。