Taiwanese woman fired by Sydney restaurant for telling boss that Taiwan is not part of China

After responding to her boss’s question, the waitress says she was fired 20 minutes later

A Taiwanese woman has claimed that she was fired from her job as a waitress at a restaurant in Australia for failing to voice her support for the One-China policy.

In a Facebook post that has been picked up by Taiwan and Hong Kong media, a Taiwanese woman, known only as “Winnie,” writes that she had been working at a Chinese restaurant in Sydney called the Hutong Hotpot (胡同涮肉), which was patronized by many customers from the mainland.

One day, her Chinese boss asked her a question over walkie-talkie: “Is Taiwan part of China?”

“Of course not,” she replied without thinking.

Twenty minutes later, her boss reached out to her again, telling her that she should stop working. Confused, she asked her Chinese coworkers if he was serious or not. They only laughed at her.

When she went to turn in her walkie-talkie and uniform for the day, she asked what days she should work this week. Her boss responded by telling her not to come in anymore, only reminding her to pick up her paycheck on Saturday. Soon, she found herself kicked off the restaurant’s WeChat group.

Winnie said that she was left “dumbfounded” and “speechless” by what had happened.

“I believe I am a hardworking and conscientious person. Every time I apply at a restaurant, I get hired right away,” she writes. “Whether Taiwan is part of the mainland has nothing to do with my work.”

While Winnie said that she was upset by the incident, she added that she was “happy that now I won’t have to waste any more time with this kind of boss.”

According to news.com.au, Winnie’s Facebook post has caused others to recall similar experiences they had in Australia when asked about cross-strait issues:

One Taiwanese man recalled going to work at a large banquet hall in Australia two years ago, where he was asked by the manager whether he supported reunification. “I replied, ‘Taiwan is very democratic, we must respect the people in Taiwan,’” wrote Yangson Tsai. “I did not work after that. I would like to ask, if Chinese people are so patriotic, why don’t they go back? Why are they dying to stay in Australia? [Why do they] study abroad to find ways to not return to China?”

Meanwhile, the restaurant’s rating has taken quite a hit on review site Zomato. Here are a few reviews from the past couple of days:

“I did not like the food at all, it reminded me of food prepared in a 1970’s era Chinese state owned cafeteria, I could see a portrait of Mao in the kitchen.” “Overall I’d say the food was ok, but I didnt enjoy the constant questioning by the owner, asking me if ‘Taiwan is Part of China.’ Also the food is shit.” “Quality of meat was terrible, even possum road kill would have been of better quality. Staff and manager were rude as well, felt more like a sweatshop than a restaurant.” “ Disgusting service with rude staff. Food was inedible and looked days old. The restaurant looked like it hadn’t had a proper clean in ages. Avoid at all costs.” “ You should be ashamed of yourselves. But I know you don’t care since all this bad publicity will attract 1,000x more Chinese customers in your place.”

So far, the restaurant’s owner has not responded to requests for comment.