Taiwanese tea wins prize in France amid Chinese political protest

Taichung, Dec. 16 (CNA) The owner of a tea company that recently won a French tea competition award said on Tuesday the awards ceremony was marred by two individuals, believed to be Chinese diplomats, who shouted out slogans questioning Taiwan's sovereignty.

Leo Hsieh (謝忠霖), CEO of the Taichung-based Lishan Juxin Tea Industry Co., Ltd. told CNA that while he was attending the awards ceremony for the 8th AVPA "Teas of the World" contest on Dec. 2, two members of the Chinese embassy in France at the event shouted out slogans when the Republic of China (Taiwan) flag was shown on the screen.

According to a video clip Hsieh posted on his social media platform, the two individuals shouted out "Taiwan is part of China" and "Taiwan is just a province" in English when Hsieh's tea brand won a special mention.

However, the outburst did not interrupt the awards ceremony, with some attendees booing the two people, asking them to be quiet or leave the venue.

Hsieh told CNA that many ceremony participants had offered him words of encouragement following the incident. Some even told him that the "wolf warrior diplomacy" behavior of the Chinese diplomats would only increase negative views of China.

Meanwhile, asked to comment on the incident, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Hsiao Kuangwei (蕭光偉) said that although it was not immediately clear if the two were indeed Chinese diplomats, it is a fact that Taiwan is not part of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and that the Republic of China (Taiwan) and PRC are not subordinate to each another.

According to Taiwan's representative office in France, the 2025 "Teas of the World" competition is organized by the Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products (AVPA) and was held at the Embassy of Peru in Paris.

This year, the AVPA evaluated more than 300 tea products from 18 countries around the world. Ultimately, Taiwanese tea brands won 10 Gold Gourmets, 8 Silver Gourmets, 12 Bronze Gourmets, and 24 AVPA Gourmet Product prizes.

Hsieh's Lishan Juxin Tea Industry Co. won the AVPA Gourmet Product prize with its Huagang Snow Source Tea.