TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In response to a Chinese ban on alcohol imports from Taiwan, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) over the weekend posted a photo of himself with two cans of Taiwan Beer, which he labeled "Freedom Beer."

On Dec. 8, the Council of Agriculture (COA) confirmed that China banned the import of aquatic products from Taiwan, including squid. The next day, China added a number of signature beverages to its Taiwan import ban, including Taiwan Beer, Kinmen Kaoliang, Kavalan Whisky, and Heysong Sarsaparilla.

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) responded on Saturday (Dec. 10) that Taiwan will file a formal complaint with the World Trade Organization against Beijing for interfering with trade through the use of administrative registration restrictions. Meanwhile, Wu posted a tweet on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Twitter page in which he observed that China has again banned Taiwanese beverages, including domestically-brewed beer.

He described the action by Beijing as "economic coercion,' and quipped that "they don’t know what they’re missing: the great taste of freedom." He then ended the post with the hashtag #FreedomBeer.

When China banned the import of pineapples in 2021, Taiwan started a campaign to promote pineapples in other countries with the slogan "Freedom Pineapples." In June of this year, Taiwan began promoting "Democracy Fish" in response to a Chinese ban on Taiwan-raised grouper.

Heard that the #PRC is banning some products from #Taiwan again, including our beer. Economic coercion of course. But they don’t know what they’re missing: the great taste of freedom. JW#FreedomBeer pic.twitter.com/VhcLM4zXPc

— 外交部 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan) 〔錯誤字元無法儲存〕〔錯誤字元無法儲存〕 (@MOFA_Taiwan) December 10, 2022