‘If they want peaceful exchanges, they shouldn’t have banned our pineapples’: Taiwanese sceptical about Chinese premier’s ‘olive branch’

Li Keqiang’s comments that Beijing wants to promote peaceful cross-strait ties do not sit well with many Taiwanese in the face of growing mainland pressure

A recent ban on pineapple imports has further inflamed public opinion, but some observers believe the island is not among Beijing’s biggest priorities

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Taiwan’s pineapple farmers have fallen victim to cross-strait tensions. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 10:00am, 14 Mar 2021Updated: 2:45pm, 14 Mar 2021

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang insisted last week that Beijing wanted to promote peaceful relations across the Taiwan Strait, but many Taiwanese are questioning how this can be achieved when the mainland authorities have shown no signs of reducing the pressure on the island – including a recent ban on its pineapples.

Speaking at a press conference on the final day of the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress, the mainland’s top legislative body, Li said Beijing was committed to promoting the peaceful development of cross-strait relations – as long as the one-China principle and “1992 consensus” were upheld.

Other senior mainland officials, including Wang Yang, chairman of the advisory Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and Zhang Zhijun, the head of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, made similar comments to Li’s during the event, known informally as the “two sessions”.

Observers said the comments suggested Beijing was in no hurry to deal with the Taiwan issue and has made Hong Kong its top priority.

“To Beijing, Hong Kong is an issue that needs to be addressed more urgently, and the Taiwan issue can be dealt with at a slower pace,” said Chang Wu-ueh, a professor at Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of China Studies in Taipei.