Bananas For Soldiers
Taiwanese soldiers will be eating a lots of bananas. The Agricalture Council of the Cabinet(Executive Yuen) announced the other day that as a measure of propping up price of bananas, measures of increased purchase of the fruit will be in effect and it will be distributed to the militaly units and schools. The famers are crying as the price has dropped to only 1/4, compared to last year’s. One truck load of bananas will bring only NT$1,500 to 2,000, or about US$50 t0 70. One banana will sell for only 1 NT$ or 3 US cents. The Council also makes appeal to people that they should eat more bananas and many recipes using banana in cooking or sweets are on TVs.
The reason for the price drop is no mystry. It is simply due to over abundance of its harvest. But, actually it is not simply a case of over production. A year or so ago, the KMT (Chinese Nationalist Party) of the ROC in Taiwan had linked up with the PROC (Communist China), and a delegate led by the i ts previous chairman visited China. They were greatly welcomed by the leadership there and both parties aired their mutual aspiration of looking forward to “reunification”. One of the “achivements” was “tax-free import” of bananas and other agricultuural products. China also promised to give a pair of pandas to Taipei Zoo. Actually the KMT has no authority at all to conduct any talk that requires official government to government negotiation, as the KMT no longer is the ruling party in Taiwan. But many farmers were encouraged to increase their banana plantation, inspite of the warnings against such motion by the agricultural officials in Taiwan. And now, 3 bananas do not fetch even a dime!
At the moment, Mr. Lien Tsan, the previous Chairman of KMT, is in Hai-nan Island, attending a “Inter-shores Agriculture Forums”. Besides criticising Taiwan Government’s insistance on national sovereignty, similar “agreement” is announced that China will import more ” agricultural products tax -free, among those, bananas…” In fact, stemmed from this kind of “agreement”, many Chinese produces are faking as “Taiwan products” on market, commanding high prices. What China wants are agriculture know-hows, besides upsetting the present Taiwan Government.
There will be great amount of rotten fruits in the fields, as no one there would bother to harvest them, and soldiers will be fed-up by bananas. Alaas!