The first batch of the Black Pearl (黑珍珠) strain of wax apples -- which are originally from the Malay peninsula but have been genetically improved in Taiwan -- were airlifted yesterday to Canada as part of the fruit's experimental entry into the North American market.
Black Pearl wax apples, which are grown mainly in Taiwan's southernmost county of Pingtung, get their name from their shiny dark-red color. They also taste sweeter than ordinary wax apples, are larger in size and have an improved texture -- which makes the strain a "pearl among fruits," according to those who named it.
Black Pearl wax apples command much higher prices than other strains -- around NT$200 (US$5.7) per kilogram compared to just NT$30 per kilogram for ordinary wax apples.
The Canada-bound wax apples, packed into small paper cartons that contain five or six fruits each, mark the first time that this kind of fruit has been exported to Canada.
Similar shipments are expected to be airlifted to Singapore shortly as part of an overseas sales campaign recently launched by the Taiwan Wax Apple Sales Strategic Alliance (台灣蓮霧產業聯盟) under technical guidance from the Kaohsiung District Agricultural Improvement Station (KDAIS, 高雄區農業改良場).
According to Lee Hsien-teh from the KDAIS, Taiwan's wax apples are priced high because of their good quality -- they are also a labor-intensive variety and require a slow growth rate and organic fertilizer to ensure good taste and texture
Of the roughly 8,300 hectares of wax apple orchards nationwide, about 7,000 hectares are in Pingtung County.
In Liukuei, Kaohsiung County, an even newer species of wax apple, the "black diamond" has been developed. However, the "black diamond," which is even larger than the "black pearl," is being produced in very low numbers, insufficient for even domestic consumption.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
RSS