Taiwanese Cuisine Takes the World by Storm, Amid China Tension

by | Jul 25, 2019 | Politics and Society

BEIJING (Loiters) –  Taiwanese food is catching on among culinary enthusiasts the world over, raising tensions with Mainland China, which sees Taiwan as a renegade province. In Mainland China, the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) blamed Taiwanese overseas for increasing tensions. “The feelings of 1.3 billion Chinese are hurt each time someone sells beef noodle and says it’s ‘Taiwan-style,’” said Liu Jieyi, the head of Mainland China’s TAO, amidst rising tensions. 

In Washington, administration officials asked both sides to exercise restraint in adding another Michelin star to their restaurants, though privately several analysts with investments in Mainland China criticized Taiwan for provoking Beijing via improved restaurant offerings.

Officials had “no comment” on Beijing’s request that Washington ask states to stop issuing business licenses to “Taiwanese” food restaurants, amid rising tensions.

According to Chinese experts, Chinese food was brought to Taiwan by settlers from the Mainland over the last 5,000 years, during every minute of which tensions have been rising.

“These Taiwanese were brainwashed by the Japanese and now think Boba was invented in Taiwan,” complained Yu Don-no, a culinary historian based in Harbin. “This has raised tensions.”

Swatting tensions aside as he sat in his comfortable office in a Shenzhen high rise, Dr. Ai Ou-yu, a local food historian, explained: “Boba milk tea is a late Neolithic invention from North China, appearing about the same time as plastic and golf, also Chinese inventions.”

His phone pinged five times at the end of this sentence as his social credit score rose five points.

He added: “I think one of Xi Jinping’s ancestors invented Boba, and…” Regrettably, the remainder of his comment was lost in a crescendo of pings.

New York chef Chen Tai-ren told reporters he had become cautious about his dinner choices. “The last time I had a simple gong bao ji ding on the menu, it caused an international incident,” he said.

An Asian grocer in Chinatown agreed, saying: “We usually unload shipments of Ma Ma Mian from Taiwan in the dead of night, otherwise tensions spike.”

A spokesman for Beijing’s TAO said that the Mainland would remain on alert against the actions of Taiwanese cuisine separatists, given its One Cuisine Policy.

With Din Tai Fung expanding its restaurant locations around the world, tensions are expected to continue to rise.

(Feature photo by Kremlin.ru on Wikicommons, CC BY 4.0) 

Michael Turton
Michael Turton
Michael Turton is a longtime resident of Taiwan. He blogs about Taiwan politics and cycling at The View from Taiwan (http://michaelturton.blogspot.com).
Michael Turton
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