Chinese mainland on Monday denied accusations by Taiwan that a ban on pineapples from the island was about politics, saying it was purely a matter of biosecurity.
The mainland announced the ban last week, citing “harmful creatures” it said could come with the fruit threatening its own agriculture.
The Taiwan Affairs Office of China’s State Council said the decision was “totally rational and necessary” and that customs had a responsibility to prevent diseases carried by plants from entering the country.
“The Democratic Progressive Party authorities have deliberately misrepresented and maliciously interpreted technical issues, taking the opportunity to attack and discredit the mainland,” it said.
The DPP has neither the will nor the ability to solve practical problems, and they can only evade their own responsibility by “slandering the mainland,” it added.
(Agencies)