Council of Agriculture Deputy Minister Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) yesterday accused China of “robbery and a complete disregard for the rule of law,” saying that Beijing began publicly promoting a patented pineapple cultivar stolen from Taiwan.
Chinese media said the developer of the fruit was the Chiayi branch of the council’s Agricultural Research Institute in the “Chinese region of Taiwan,” Chen told the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper).
In March 2021, Beijing banned imports of golden diamond pineapples from Taiwan under false pretenses and launched a massive promotion campaign for the fruit, which it was growing illegally in Guangdong Province, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Agricultural Research Institute
The Tainung No. 23 “mango pineapple” China is producing without authorization was a centerpiece of the council’s long-term fruit export plans, Chen said, adding that the patents for the cultivar were internationally recognized.
The theft means that the untold amount of money and years of agricultural research spent on creating the pineapple might not produce returns, he said.
Taiwan and China used to have a cross-strait plant patent work group, which the two countries founded together in 2010, Chen said.
In 2016, China abruptly ceased all communications, and did not respond to calls for cooperation, despite the council’s attempts to establish contact via non-governmental channels, he said.
The council has given four companies and three farming households authorization to grow the mango-flavored pineapple, with 25 hectares under cultivation this year, he said.
Citing Chinese reports, Chen said 66.7 hectares are being used to farm the cultivar in Hainan Province.
Fang Yi-tan (方怡丹), who heads the Chiayi branch of the Agricultural Research Institute, said that access to the cultivar was supposed to be heavily restricted, and an investigation into how China gained access to it is being conducted.
Taiwan could ask Japan to ban imports of the cultivar from China due to patent protections, she said.
Japan is the largest export market for Taiwanese pineapples and patent protections ensure that the market grows, Agriculture and Food Agency Director-General Hu Jong-i (胡忠一) said, adding that the council aims to export 20,000 tonnes of the fruit.
Local farmers are expected to grow about 383,000 tonnes of pineapples this year, he added.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by