CHINA has rarely been out of the news since Wuhan was revealed as the source of the pandemic. Now, in the midst of an array of escalating conflicts with countries around the world, mysterious unsolicited packages are being sent out from Chinese addresses.
What’s China doing?
China is never far from the headlines. As the world battles the pandemic, Chinese firm TikTok has been outlawed by India and is now facing a potential ban in the US amid security concerns. Meanwhile, the UK has been warned of "public and painful retaliation" after Boris Johnson banned China’s mobile phone giant Huawei from the UK's 5G network.
Galapagos?
A huge fleet of Chinese fishing boats have been gathering around the protected marine life zone around the Galapagos Islands, where back in 2017, just one Chinese boat was found to have 300 tonnes of wildlife on board. And in the Himalayas, tension is mounting with India after China deployed around 50,000 troops in the disputed border region of Ladakh, while China has imposed a controversial new security law on Hong Kong.
But now?
Mysterious packages have been arriving at homes in the United States, Canada, parts of Europe and in the UK; some with seeds, others with jewellery.
These are items people ordered?
No, they are all unsolicited, with some seed packages saying on the label that the package contains jewellery.
What kind of seeds?
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has received reports of thousands of packages of seeds being received in mailboxes, with the organisation's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service instructing local agencies to collect the seeds and send them in for analysis. So far, tests have shown that most seem to be flowering plants, herbs, vegetables or grasses.
But they are causing concern?
Plant experts have warned that seeds from other countries could be non-native species that could harm resident crops. Meanwhile, Robin Pruisner, who is the state seed control official at the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship in Iowa - the US’s top corn growing state - said the seeds appear to have an unknown coating - possibly a fungicide - that could damage crops. In Canada, police have also issued warnings to residents not to plant seeds received.
It’s not just seeds?
Some seed packages have been reported to have been received in the UK, but so have packages of jewellery, mainly rings. Many recipients have taken to social media to post images of rings that have arrived in the post, with one Facebook user saying her mother “got this mysterious ring in the mail from China. Didn’t order it…The package has her name and address and phone number on it. Is it safe to open it?”
Brushing?
Investigators in the US have said they believe at this stage that it could be a "brushing scam" where people receive unsolicited items from a seller who then posts fake customer reviews to boost sales.
But rumours abound?
Social media is doing its thing; alight with theories that the seeds could be dangerous and the jewellery could contain “tracking devices”.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here