BEIJING: A senior Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman has caused a storm of ridicule online after a late night tweet where she used restaurant listings to assert Beijing's claim over Taiwan.
Baidu Maps show that there are 38 Shandong dumpling restaurants and 67 Shanxi noodle restaurants in Taipei, spokeswoman Hua Chunying posted on the social media site late on Sunday Aug 7 that Palates don't cheat. Taiwan has always been a part of China. She said that the long lost child will return home eventually.
Hua's tweet came at the end of a week of tension surrounding the Taiwan Strait, during which Beijing raged at a trip by the United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island, which China considers is part of its territory.
The Chinese government has responded to Pelosi's trip by cancelling a series of talks and cooperation agreements with Washington, as well as deploying fighter jets, warships and ballistic missiles around democratic, self-ruled Taiwan.