Fruit and seafood are the latest front in escalating Taiwan-China tensions

Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan says China’s ban on imports of its fruit, vegetables, seafood and other goods violate trade rules, in the latest ratcheting up of tensions between the self-governing island republic and its massive neighbor, which has vowed to annex Taiwan by force. The Taiwanese government’s Mainland Affairs Council said Thursday the ban, which takes effect next week, ignores rules laid out by the World Trade Organization, of which both sides are members. It comes amid growing military, political and economic pressure on Taiwan’s government to concede to Beijing’s control. Taiwan’s semi-tropical climate and fertile soil have nurtured an agricultural industry valued at around $500 billion dollars, alongside high-tech corporations that produce the world’s most cutting edge computer chips.