President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday promoted pineapples along with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) local government heads from southern Taiwan.
China on Friday last week announced that from Monday it would suspend imports of Taiwanese pineapples, citing concerns about harmful organisms found on the fruits. The import ban accounts for nearly 10 percent of Taiwan’s annual pineapple production, but the amount was offset after the public and private sectors joined forces to purchase the fruit.
The party has set up a “pineapple national team,” Tsai, who is the DPP chairperson, told a news conference at the party’s headquarters in Taipei.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
She urged Taiwanese to consume fresh pineapples and pineapple-based products.
Tsai was joined by the heads of local government from Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well Chiayi and Pingtung counties, which are the nation’s main pineapple production regions.
DPP officials at the event presented fresh pineapples and a variety of finished products, including pineapple cakes, pineapple jam, pineapple toast, as well as vinegar, wine, sauce, and cosmetics and health food products made from the fruit.
Tsai thanked Taiwanese for helping pineapple farmers over the past few days, saying: “Taiwan will stand together in unity, as people face unreasonable actions in international trade.”
“A number of foreign embassies and representative offices have expressed their support for Taiwanese pineapples, so we wish to thank all our international friends for their support, as well our citizens for uniting to help the nation’s pineapple growers,” Tsai said.
The pineapple harvest gets under way later this month and continues for several months, she said, adding that now is the time to place orders.
People could buy additional pineapples during the harvest season to help pineapple farmers overcome the challenge, she added.
“A crisis also creates new opportunities. When facing challenges, Taiwan never gets knocked down. We take them on and grow stronger,” she said. “Taiwanese came together to support hardworking farmers and their high-quality products. The international community will also stand with Taiwan.”
SUPPORT BASES
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said that “the DPP has important support bases in southern Taiwan, which overlaps with pineapple production areas, so it is natural for DPP supporters to eat pineapples, and when China lashes out against our pineapples, we have to join forces.”
Pingtung County Commissioner Pan Men-an (潘孟安) said: “Pingtung is the locomotive driving Taiwan’s pineapple production and is to enter harvest season next week. When China banned Taiwan pineapple imports on Friday, we immediately prepared containers of pineapples to ship to Japan.”
Pingtung also produces a variety of processed pineapple products, Pan said, urging people to buy pineapples at intervals over the coming months to ensure they have the freshest, top-quality pineapples.
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
RSS