After Taitung County Magistrate Rao Ching-ling appeared at the Straits Forum via a pre-recorded video and the case was ultimately dropped without penalty, blue and green camp figures traded barbs from afar. The exchange carried a strong political flavour, and for Rao herself it counts as good news.

• On the 13th, the Mainland Affairs Council determined that Rao Ching-ling's video did not touch on political issues and did not violate the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, deciding not to impose any penalty.
• Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an spoke up for Rao, saying the Mainland Affairs Council could not simply "turn the page lightly" and owed Magistrate Rao and five agricultural groups an apology.
• Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh fired back, saying the competent authority has a duty to investigate matters thoroughly, and that Chiang was "reaching all the way from Taipei to Taitung" — overreaching on something that was none of his business.
• Chiang Wan-an countered again, questioning whether "selling pineapple custard apples somehow amounts to selling out Taiwan," and asking in return whether it was the Mainland Affairs Council that was overreaching.
• Liang Wen-chieh then clarified that the Mainland Affairs Council had never said selling pineapple custard apples amounted to selling out Taiwan, stressing that "selling out Taiwan" refers to building organisations for the Chinese Communist Party, influencing elections, or spying for secrets.

Outlook: Although the case has been closed without penalty, the long-distance sparring between the blue and green camps is unlikely to stop in the short term, and the controversy over the red lines of cross-strait exchanges will continue to flare.