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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Culture & Society

Taiwan Official Apologizes for Remarks on Local Fruit Consumption

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Taiwan's Deputy Minister of Mainland Affairs Council, Liang Wen-chieh, apologized for remarks suggesting Taiwanese people rarely eat custard apples and wax apples.
  • He made the comment at a press conference, drawing criticism, and later clarified it was a slip of the tongue.
  • Liang offered to purchase local produce to show support, while some netizens questioned a political rival's timing in bringing up the issue.

Taiwan's Deputy Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council, Liang Wen-chieh, has apologized for remarks he made suggesting that Taiwanese people rarely consume custard apples and wax apples, describing them as agricultural products heavily reliant on mainland China. The comment, made at a press conference, drew criticism, prompting Liang to clarify his statement.

Don't worry, I haven't been there for 800 years.

— Liang Wen-chiehLiang Wen-chieh's post on Threads, referencing a comment made about his supposed habits.

During a recent event, Liang acknowledged that his phrasing was imprecise. He stated, "I said Taiwanese people rarely eat them, but the correct expression should be that they eat very little." He formally apologized to farmers and the public who enjoy these fruits. To demonstrate his commitment, Liang pledged to purchase 200 packs of custard apple ice pops for his colleagues at the MAC and 100 boxes of the fruit as gifts by the end of the year.

Liang took to the social media platform Threads to address the situation, posting a screenshot of a news report and stating, "Don't worry, I haven't been there for 800 years." This post was seen by many netizens as a self-deprecating and humorous way to handle the controversy, earning praise for his grace and willingness to engage with the criticism.

I said Taiwanese people rarely eat them, but the correct expression should be that they eat very little, therefore, I want to express my apologies to the farmers and the public who like custard apples and wax apples.

— Liang Wen-chiehLiang Wen-chieh clarifying his earlier statement and apologizing to farmers and the public.

However, the incident also sparked debate online, with some netizens questioning the motives of political rival Chen Ying, who had invited Liang to taste the local fruits and made a jest about him "going to fewer hotels to buy more custard apples." Some commenters felt Chen's actions were inappropriate and detracted from Liang's apology, while others defended Liang's handling of the situation, appreciating his willingness to own his mistake and engage with the public.

We go to one less hotel, we can buy a lot of custard apples!

— Chen YingChen Ying's jest towards Liang Wen-chieh regarding his supposed spending habits.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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