Taiwan-Canada ties surge as supporters tout trade, politics and shared values

News Snapshot:

VANCOUVER — Somewhere at the confluence of politics, commerce and shared values driving a recent wave of Canadian fascination with Taiwan, there were the island's "freedom pineapples." In 2021, imports of the fruit enjoyed a spike in interest internationally when China banned them from its market. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry urged "like-minded friends" around the world to stand up to China by buying "freedom pineapples," and the phenomenon took off. At Kuohua Trading Co., a Taiwanese supermarket in Richmond, B.C., a member of the sales staff said on Friday that while they only imported a small number of pineapples during the...