In Taiwan, the pineapple has an unmatched record. During the Japanese occupation, production reached 100 million annually. There were numerous different products, and those early pineapple cans make many nostalgic.

Taiwan and the pineapple had their first rendezvous in the late Kang-hsi era of the Ching dynasty. Under the Japanese, seedlings were brought from Hawaii, the world's largest pineapple producer. Because Taiwan's climate suits the heat loving, heat tolerant fruit, and the soil near the south and central coast is very acidic, conditions are ideal. And pineapple doesn't lose its flavor under heating during the canning process, proving very popular for Japanese.

Besides canning pineapple and marketing it in Japan, the cans were an important war materiel for the Japanese military. Chen Chao-hung, head of Fengshan branch of the Taiwan Pineapple Corporation, recalls "For a while, pineapple cans were a controlled item!"

Because the economy had collapsed, in the post-retrocession period pineapple be came an important source of income for the nation. The government actively promoted the development of four main products--pineapple, tea, seafood, and products of animal husbandry.

Thereafter, Taiwan pineapple spread to many countries. Exports reached more than 1.6 million cases, accounting for 7% of national income. For a time Taiwan became second only to Hawaii in production.

Unfortunately times change. With the development of industry and commerce, rising wages, and other factors, pineapples retired from their role at the cutting edge of exports, unable to meet competition from the Philippines and Thailand. Especially from 1969 to 1973, when there was overproduction and adverse turns in the market, the industry was stunned.

Though its economic prowess has waned, the pineapple is still an indispenable fruit in Taiwan, and today domestic sales overwhelm exports.

Because the Taiwanese pronunciation of pineapple is similar to the sound wanglai, which means "the coming of prosperity" in Mandarin Chinese, it is considered an auspicious symbol. It is a constant at new year's and other festivals' worship and stuffed into the sacrificial pig as an offering to the gods.

The sweet taste makes pineapple an excellent accessory with sweets and cooking. Pineapple cakes have made many a pastry shop famous; pineapple candies and hearts have been popular ever since we can remember; the pineapple moon cake is not to be missed at Mid-Autumn Festival; and restaurants offer pineapple rice, pineapple chicken, food cooked right in the pineapple shell. . . .

Besides being abundant in Vitamin C, as Professor Li Chin-feng of the Graduate Institute of Food Science and Technology at National Taiwan University tells us, the fruit can be up to 87% water, and is high in potassium, which has the function of blocking the body from absorbing too much salt. For moderns who easily get too much salt, pineapple is the best antidote.

Farmers have a saying about pineapple: due to its fragrant aftertaste, they say, "You can never eat a pineapple secretly."

If pineapple has a down side, it is that it is often misunderstood to be harmful to the mouth. Many believe that mouth lesions are because the pineapple has not been cleanly peeled. In fact, pineapple is very high in bromelin, which helps break down proteins. Therefore, a piece of pineapple after eating can help digestion. But the body is a kind of protein, and the delicate skin in the mouth can be "eroded" by the bromelin. Eating pineapple on an empty stomach can hurt the stomach.

In the past, because the goal was exports, most planting was of the large, high water content Smooth Cayenne pineapple. Even today, the Smooth Cayenne pineapple is considered most suitable for canning and fresh sales, and 90% of domestic pineapples are of this type. Most places in the world plant the same type.

"But improvements in pineapple strains have not ceased from the Japanese occupation to today," says Lin Jung-kuei, researcher at Fengshan Agricultural Station, Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute. In the past the Chiayi Agricultural Station developed the Tainung No. One to No. Eight types in the early post-war period. The Fengshan Agricultural Station undertook cultivation of the Tainung Eleven in 1952. But because they aren't as suitable for export as the Smooth Cayenne pineapple, they have not spread.

But recently, with the pineapple market mainly domestic, strains previously not popular, but which suit fresh pineapple sales, have a chance for a comeback.

In 1978 the Chiayi Agricultural Station put out the striking Tainung Four peelable pineapple (no knife necessary). The skin is very thick, and using a knife to peel would leave little fruit. But it has a higher percentage of sugar than the Smooth Cayenne pineapple, can be peeled by hand, has lower water content, and can be carried for a long time, making it popular among out-doorsmen. It has also been well-received in Japan.

Not to be caught behind, in 1986 Fengshan baptized the Tainung Eleven, with a strong perfume aroma. Today the area planted with this type is not large, but it has stolen away a bit of the Smooth Cayenne pineapple's popularity.

Chiayi Station has struck back with the "apple pineapple" (Tainung No. Six) recently. However, Fengshan claims to have a "secret weapon" in store.

With both sides "straining" to be the best, the big winner is the people. However, no matter which type of pineapple one is talking about, including the Smooth Cayenne pineapple, there is a common perception that these fruits are getting sweeter all the time. The reason, says Huang Han-lu, vice-director of the Laopei farm, is that in-the- field control technology is better and better, care is appropriate, and fertilizer is ample--its hard not to get sweeter.

For most fruits, "sweeter" means better tasting. Yet for aficionados of the pineapple, if one day it is no longer tart, that's the day it will cease to be attractive.

[Picture Caption]

It's harvest season again. The photo shows the Laopei farm. Besides being sold fresh, pineapples can be processed into all kinds of products.

Pineapple grown naturally does not from seeds. Staff at the Fengshan agricultural station cultivate seedlings.

Pineapple is composed of the fruit of many small flowers grown together.

"Pineapple head, watermelon tail." Can you tell which side is the head? In fact the leafy part is the tail.

Pineapples can take the heat,but shy away from sunlight. Farmers bind together the leaves to provide shade.

A "pineapple pot," where food is cooked right inside the pineapple. It is eye-catching and delicious, and available at many restaurants in Taiwan. (photo courtesy of Hilit publishing Co., Ltd.)

Today the trademark is stamped right on the pineapple can. Those steel c ans so many remember from their childhoods can't be found.

At left is the Tainung No. 6 of which the special characteristic is that the fibers are very fine. At right is the No. 4 "peelable" pineapple produced by the Chiayi agricu ltural station.Second from the right is the Tainung No. 11 created by the Fengshan station. (photos courtesy of Chang Ching-chin and Lin Jung-kuei)

The "tourist pineapple," of the same family as its namesake, has beautiful flowers, but no fruit to eat.

Because the sounds for "pineapple" in Taiwanese evoke the idea of pros-perity, it has become an indis-pensable part of New Year's offerings.

Professor Idema pays back his homeland by translating works of traditional Chinese literature into Dutch.

Satellite dish transmissions have become part of the daily entertainment fare of many homes.

Satellite dish transmissions have become part of the daily entertainment fare of many homes.

A rocket used to carry satellites aloft. （photo by Arthur Cheng）

With the increasing popularity of satellite television in recent years, satellite dishes have come out in all shapes and sizes.

Transmission signals are processed by the Central Weather Bureau into a sharp map of cloud cover.

Transmission signals are processed by the Central Weather Bureau into a sharp map of cloud cover.

The Satellite Telecommunications Center receives satellite images from o verseas 24 hours a day without regard to weather.