If you Google “Taiwan”, this page below will pop up on your screen.
As you can see, Google clearly thinks Taiwan is a country.
But have a look at the two questions under the famous “People also ask” section. They read:
- Is Taiwan an actual country?
- Is Taiwan located in China?
These two questions perfectly encapsulate Taiwan’s dispute with China over its sovereignty. Typically, such a debate would involve politicians or bored netizens.
But now, a stall that sells kaya toast has become entangled in this political conflict.
Chinese Netizens Triggered After Ya Kun Kaya Toast Lists Taiwan as a Country
Our story begins in a Ya Kun Kaya Toast outlet in the Chinese city of Nanjing. Yes, the Singaporean retro cafe chain has outlets outside Singapore, including in places like China and Taiwan.
The outlet had played a promotional video in which it listed the other places around the world that the Singaporean chain had expanded its operations to.
This list, as you’ll see below, included China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Myanmar, Indonesia, India, Maldives, and the United Arab Emirates.
Nothing wrong here, right? Well, what angered netizens in China was the caption that accompanied the graphic: “Our 40 over branches in 10 countries have received a tremendous response”.
Yes, Ya Kun listed Taiwan as a “country”, and all hell broke loose online in China.
Users on Weibo reportedly accused Singapore of being anti-China and called for a boycott on the chain. Others accused the outlet of “Taiwan separatism”.
It may not just be the feelings of social media users that the store has to worry about, as the person in charge of the outlet is reportedly under investigation now. The branch is also being investigated for allegedly violating advertising laws.
Outlet’s Response
As we’ve seen with other internet sagas, the might of the people online is great, and they usually get their way in the end.
This is why it was unsurprising when Ya Kun issued a public apology for what it called a “mistake”, explaining that the production of the promotional video was outsourced to another company.
“Taiwan is an indispensable part of the People’s Republic of China”, it said in its apology.
What is the Taiwan-China Dispute All About?
At the heart of this dispute is a simple distinction in how Taiwan’s political status is viewed.
China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be part of China again. On the other hand, many Taiwanese people believe they already have a separate nation, even though it’s never been officially declared.
In the 1980s, China proposed a “one country, two systems” structure, much like the one they say they have with Hong Kong, but Taiwan rejected the idea.
China takes this distinction rather seriously, severely punishing those who list Taiwan as an autonomous nation. This was no more apparent than when it fined Japanese retailer Muji 200,000 yuan (S$42,077) in Shanghai in 2018 for using packaging that listed Taiwan as a country.
So, be warned, Google.
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Featured Image: Weibo via Mothership
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