Mainland China targets Taiwan with booze ban as import rejections top 2,400 since last October
- Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor and seven other exporters of Taiwanese alcohol have been banned from the mainland by Beijing
- Mainland China’s customs authority has rejected 2,409 applications to import food and beverages of all types since October last year
A prized brand of hard liquor has been added to a fast-growing list of Taiwanese products that mainland China is barring from its giant market, officials said, accentuating fears the island’s exports are increasingly at risk of political retribution from Beijing.
The maker of Kinmen Kaoliang, a sorghum-based liquor that is the staple export from the Taiwan-controlled islands of Quemoy, also known as Kinmen, said on its website on Saturday that the strong, ornately bottled drink popular among Chinese consumers has been temporarily suspended from entering the mainland.
Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor and seven other exporters of Taiwanese alcohol have been banned from the mainland by Beijing, Taiwanese officials told a news conference in Taipei on Sunday. Another is the government-run Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor, which bottles beer for export.
Mainland’s China’s General Administration of Customs has rejected 2,409 applications to import food and beverages of all types since October last year, Taiwanese authorities said in a statement on Saturday. Just 792 have received approval.
Exports from other parts of the world have been approved much faster by the mainland, the cabinet said.