Red meat sector welcomes Korea-NZ FTA
The red meat sector welcomes the announcement today that all steps are now completed to enable the Korea-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement to enter into force before the year end.
I hosted a dinner for Air New Zealand's Gold Elite customers in Singapore, attended a dinner featuring Kiwi wines in Macau and ran tastings/lectures on New Zealand wine for the wine trade and press in Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Bangkok. The seventh country was Hong Kong where I touched down briefly en route to Macau.
The most curious incident happened in Bangkok when I was asked to pose for a photo. Grabbing a glass of red wine and wearing a fake smile I waited for the photographer to press the shutter. He appeared slightly agitated and, through an interpreter, explained that it was illegal to have my photo taken with a glass of wine.
Being photographed with a glass of wine is in breach of Section 32 of the Alcohol Control Act because the photo of me brandishing a glass of wine could make others want to consume alcoholic beverages. It's hard to imagine that my picture, if it appeared in the local newspaper, would spark a stampeded to the nearest off-license but I'm certainly not prepared to take the risk. I would imagine that a Bangkok slammer would not be a pleasant place.
24 Thai celebrities are currently in trouble after posting photos of themselves with a glass of Chang beer on Facebook. They face a nine-year jail term and/or a fine of up to $20,000 if found guilty of breaching the Act. Two of the celebs have denied being paid to post their photos with a glass of Chang beer. "We were only doing it to help a close friend promote the product" they claimed.
