Mysterious Seed Packages - Formosahut forum

Any ideas on what this could be about?

The packages are now turning up in Australia and TT reports that it's been going on for years.

Didn't think too much of it but read today that former legislative assistant Chen Wei-jen (陳惟仁) from Taiwan has been arrested in connection with the sending of suspicious packages.

The TT reported that "On Aug. 13 Chen and two other former legislative assistants were indicted for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) for allegedly collecting classified materials and meeting minutes from the Legislative Yuan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mainland Affairs Council, and passing on lists of government personnel and reporters to Chinese intelligence officials."

So if someone who is involved in spying for the PRC is also involved with the sending of seed packages around the world then it raises some alarms as to what could be the motive.

That's an odd connection of two news stories. I read a few weeks ago that the seeds were marked as being sent from China, but nobody knows why. There was some speculation that it might be part of some weird fraud scheme that I didn't really look into nor understand.

You know a lot of people who get these in the mail do plant them. I'd be tempted to just to see what they are, but of course they could be an incredibly invasive species that could wipe out, say, the US soybean industry! So maybe not a great idea.

It just struck me that if these were plants meant to harm an environment, then it would qualify as biological warfare.

There is an explanation out there that the seeds are part of a scam called 'brushing', which involves sending someone a low-cost item then writing a fake review using the personal details of the recipient. It's a way to bolster reviews, which are critical for sales.

The article says if you receive an item it's an indication your data has been previously scraped and is now being shopped around on the dark web. Meaning you will be targeted for scams - until you die - probably even after.

Brushing, supposedly, is one of the most benign exploitations you'll be subjected to.

The article says if your details have been scraped, there's nothing you can do about it. The advice was 'don't give out your personal details willy nilly on the internet'.

I wanted to post a comment in the forum discussing the article - but you had to give your personal details to sign up.

(It would be a good business in our brave new world offering a 'washing' service - new name, address...)

The brushing explanation sounds plausible but doesn't quite explain the seeds. Presumably sending seeds internationally breaks all kinds of bio-security laws so why would you run that risk? - just brush people domestically for that item.

It also doesn't explain why the alleged Chinese spy in Taiwan would have a post office account connected to the delivery of the seeds.

Guess if you're a crook who scrapes and sells data to whoever the fuck, you'd just see the CCP asjust good customers.

That's a good question. Either he's moonlighting as an Amazon review poster for a few bucks an hour, or it's something else.

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