[in Mandarin] I have been helping my family farm
since I was in school. Hsieh is one of hundreds of farmers in Taiwan
that grow atemoya a variety of custard apple. [in Mandarin] The texture is rather chewy. [in Mandarin] It is sweet, but it has a hint of sour,
making the flavor unique. It’s one of the island’s most popular
fruit exports. Every season, farmers like Hsieh export around
14 million kilos. And 90% percent of that goes to China. But in September of 2021, China banned
all imports of atemoya. They claimed they had pests. [in Mandarin] I was surprised it finally happened. Overnight, Hsieh lost 70 percent of his orders. But this story is about more than just
fruit, pests, or trade. Atemoyas are a symbol of deep tensions
between Taiwan and China that have been simmering for decades. So how did this innocent tropical fruit
get caught in the middle of all this? The complicated relationship between China
and Taiwan dates back to the 1940s. Back then, China was in the middle of a brutal
civil war between the nationalists and the communists. When the communists won, they established
the People’s Republic of China on the mainland. The nationalists fled to Taiwan and
called it the Republic of China. They both declared themselves the rightful
ruler of China. A claim that today only the mainland
really upholds. Taiwan isn’t officially recognized as an
independent country. But it has developed into
a self-governing democracy with a constitution, legislature, and president. Since the civil war ended, Taiwan’s KMT
party has been in power most of the time. And while they maintained sovereignty
they also grew closer to China. But in 2014, many felt they got too close. They passed a trade pact that opened up Taiwanese
industries to Chinese investment. And thousands of protesters stormed the government. [chanting] "Review the trade pact!
Review the trade pact!" They feared the pact would hurt
Taiwan’s economy and leave it vulnerable to pressure from China. Soon after, Taiwan’s opposition party was
voted into power for only the second time in the island’s history. And this new president continued to push back
against China. “We will not accept the Beijing authorities’ use of ‘one country, two systems’ to downgrade
Taiwan And undermine the cross-strait status quo." [in Mandarin] It’s been five years, and cross-strait
relations are silent. Instead, China has intensified its pressure
campaign to unify Taiwan with the mainland. “Complete reunification of the motherland
can be and must be fulfilled.” Military incursions are on a steep rise. China has sent hundreds of fighter jets
into Taiwanese airspace. And they've conducted military drills designed to intimidate. They’ve also coerced other countries and
world organizations from formally recognizing Taiwan. A big part of China’s pressure campaign
comes down to isolating Taiwan from the rest of the world. But with this tropical fruit, China is doing
something different. It’s pressuring Taiwan from within. China is Taiwan’s largest trading partner. More than a quarter of all exports
go to the mainland. And that’s in part because they offer incentives. Like dropping all tariffs on these Taiwanese
fruits. [in Mandarin] On the surface it looks like an
“exchange” but in reality it’s a way to win
Taiwanese hearts. [in Mandarin]It’s a comprehensive top-down
strategy, wrapping around Taiwan’s agriculture, farmers and agricultural
products like a net. And this net can easily trap farmers. Like Hsieh who switched to growing atemoyas
exclusively 7 years ago. [in Mandarin] The export volume was increasing
dramatically. So we took advantage of the trend and switched
fully to atemoya. There was so much money to be made selling
to China, that many farmers in the region also switched
to atemoya. And production tripled. This brought jobs and a more sustainable economy. But there was a catch. Because of all the incentives China offers
Taiwan, a huge number of farmers rely on China to
make a living. And this creates a dangerous dependency. Because it allows China to disrupt trade flow
with, say, a fruit ban. That hurts fruit farmers in Taiwan Which could push them into blaming the government
for worsening relations with China. [in Mandarin] The motivations behind China's ban are
politics and elections. [in Mandarin] China's ambition for Taiwan has always
been unification. [in Mandarin] When they have patience, they might
give you small benefits, hoping your impression of them will
slowly turn positive. [in Mandarin] When they lose patience, they might
create psychological threats. [in Mandarin] Like they are doing now. And while the threat might be aimed at Taiwan’s
government it’s farmers like Hsieh, who feel the impact
the most. Since the ban his income has dropped by more
than 50 percent. [in Mandarin] We need to help each other sell fruit
without losing money. [in Mandarin] This is what we have to work hard on
right now. Atemoyas are the latest target,
but not the only one. China also banned wax apples. And in early 2021, pineapples too. Just like the atemoyays, China claimed the
pineapples had pests. [in Mandarin] I was very worried and scared when I
heard about the ban because I already invested so
much money and effort. [in Mandarin] I was scared. Pineapples are the most popular fruit exported
to China. They account for about 60 million US dollars. So pineapple farmers are stuck in the same
cycle of dependency. But this time, Taiwan did something different. They launched a campaign. And it went viral. World leaders and diplomats posed with the
Taiwanese pineapple. And Japan and Hong Kong replaced China as
Taiwan’s top pineapple importers. Domestically, citizens bought an entire year’s
worth of pineapple exports in 4 days. Restaurants across the island added pineapple
to everything. And it helped. But dependency on China runs deep. China wasn’t just a big market. It was an especially profitable one too. [in Mandarin] To be honest, those sales channels are
far from comparable. [in Mandarin] Elsewhere, costs go up by 20% — 30%. [in Mandarin] You can't make as much money if you
don't export to China. [in Mandarin] It's a loss for us farmers. That’s because, If Taiwan doesn't sell fruit
to China their only choice is to go north to Japan
and South Korea. Further south, in Southeast Asia, tropical
fruits are much cheaper. Longer distances are also complicated for
fresh fruits that require cool temperatures and special storage conditions. At home, the Taiwanese government has offered
financial help but most of it is going to exporters and not
small farmers. [in Mandarin] The government wants to boost sales
by subsidizing exporters. [in Mandarin] But us farmers have not benefited and we are
not happy. [in Mandarin] If you look at it from a strategic
perspective, our enemy grabbed our Achilles' heel. [in Mandarin] This crisis has forced farmers,
producers, and exporters to review this problem. [in Mandarin] They should've done this when
dependency on the Chinese market was very high. [in Mandarin] But better now than never. So instead of trying to replace the
deep-rooted market China created. Some farmers are starting to replace their crops. [in Mandarin] We have reduced production. I now
grow about 50% less than before. [in Mandarin] I also started to invest in bananas and
taros. [in Mandarin] We don't rule out the possibility (of
replacing our crops). [in Mandarin] We'll have to think about adjustments
after this harvest. Because as long as Taiwan’s farmers are
trapped in the middle of this geopolitical fight, their livelihoods will always be at risk.
