Premier William Lai (賴清德) has lashed out at China for threatening to boycott Taiwan-based bakery cafe chain 85°C (85度C) after a California outlet allegedly gave President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) a gift bag, comparing its behavior to a “blind swordsman randomly striking around” and said it was likely venting its frustration on Taiwan after the setbacks in its trade war with the US.
“Such behavior will not win society’s support,” Lai said in an interview that aired on Wednesday night on Chinese Television System.
“While in the US, the president passed by a store of a very successful local brand and went inside to buy a few cups of coffee to encourage the employees,” he said.
 
                    Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
“China’s reaction to this natural act was grossly excessive,” the premier said. “China is like a blind swordsman randomly striking around.”
The interview came on the heels of a statement issued by 85°C on its simplified Chinese-language Web site, in which it declared its support for the so-called “1992 consensus” and the notion that “the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family” in an apparent attempt to pacify Beijing.
The “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Some Chinese netizens have labeled the bakery chain, which has more than 1,000 branches worldwide, including in China, as a pro-Taiwanese independence business for receiving Tsai at a store in Los Angeles and threatened to boycott it.
China’s overreaction could be rooted in the pressure it was feeling from its trade war with Washington, Lai said.
That includes a ban on US government agencies using surveillance and telecommunications devices manufactured by a number of Chinese companies, in accordance with restrictions laid down in the US’ National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed into law by US President Donald Trump on Monday.
Citing as an example ZTE Corp (中興通訊), a Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer singled out by the act, Lai said: “What was touted as a major [Chinese] company and a multinational could not withstand a move from the US and had to close down.”
The incident made China “lose face,” Lai said, in reference to ZTE’s suspension of operations in the US in May after it was found to have breached US sanctions on Iran and North Korea.
“The company had to completely accept terms laid down by the US, including restructuring its board of directors, before it could resume operations [in the US], which came at a great cost,” he said.
“I think China is trying to take various opportunities to tell its people that it is indeed as strong as it claims to be, and during difficult times, especially when facing US pressure, it takes it out on Taiwan,” the premier said.
Lai also cited Beijing’s pressuring international airlines into changing the way they refer to Taiwan on their Web sites, which he said has sparked objections by other governments that it was meddling with their internal affairs.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,

UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention

REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.

GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on