“Such behavior will not win society’s support,” Lai said in an interview that aired on Wednesday night on Chinese Television System. “China’s reaction to this natural act was grossly excessive,” the premier said. 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.

Source: Taipei Times August 16, 2018 15:56 UTC