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By Su Yung-yao / Staff reporter
Taiwan’s coffee community has launched a “one-person-one-e-mail” campaign, calling for people to send a protest-e-mail to the World Coffee Championships (WCC) urging it to redesignate Taiwanese competitors as from “Taiwan,” rather than “Chinese Taipei.”
The call followed sudden action last week after the WCC changed all references to Taiwanese competitors from “Taiwan” to “Chinese Taipei,” including recent World Latte Art champion Bala (林紹興), who won the World Latte Art Championship in San Diego earlier this month.
When Bala received the trophy, he was referred to as representing Taiwan, as well as in the announcement on the WCC’s Web site, until it was changed to “Chinese Taipei” on Tuesday last week.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The abrupt change has led to speculation in Taiwan’s coffee community that a systematic “de-Taiwanization” operation is under way, with a source familiar with the matter blaming Chinese intervention, pointing to a major sponsor of the competition being China-based Luckin Coffee.
Later in the week, Taiwanese champions of the WCC’s previous competitions received an e-mail from the WCC informing them that its championship records would use a new designation, referencing them as “representing Chinese Taipei” or “representing the Competition Body of Chinese Taipei.”
The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), a US-based coffee association that organizes the WCC, on Friday said through a statement on the WCC’s official Web site that the decision was in line with naming conventions used by international sports bodies, including the International Olympic Committee and FIFA.
Photo courtesy of Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin
The association said it is an administrative update and “does not change who can compete, how they qualify or the experience they have on the WCC stage.”
The statement called Taiwan’s coffee community an invaluable part of the WCC’s global family.
“To every barista, roaster, brewer, cupper, and coffee lover: thank you. We’re grateful to walk alongside you, and we look forward to seeing you on the WCC stage,” it said.
After first expressing his thoughts on the name change through a Facebook post on Wednesday last week, Berg Wu (吳則霖), winner of the World Barista Championship in 2016, on Friday posted the e-mail he received from the association and wrote that he requested further clarification from the WCC.
In the reply e-mail posted on his Facebook page, Wu said he represented Taiwan when he won the World Barista Championship in 2016, and that “Taiwan is not a new designation in the WCC system.”
“Taiwanese competitors have participated in the World Coffee Championships under the name Taiwan since 2007. This means Taiwan has been the name used by our coffee community on the WCC stage for nearly 20 years,” he wrote.
Wu said changing past and future records from “Taiwan” to “Chinese Taipei” raises serious questions about the process, consistency and respect for the competitors and the community involved.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s coffee community has also launched a “self-rescue” initiative, calling for unity and “solidarity against external pressure,” and letting the WCC hear the true voice of Taiwan’s coffee community and the people.
They urged people to join their “one-person-one-e-mail” campaign, sending a protest email to the WCC at info@worldcoffeeevents.org.
Eleanor (吳朵兒), who hosted the World Coffee Roasting Championship finals in 2017 and 2019, said today the target was Taiwan, but next time, it could be anyone.
Respecting the diversity and equity of every individual and community is key to making specialty coffee sustainable and beautiful, she said, and she urged people to write an email to the WCC as well as share their thoughts on the matter on social platforms.
