Woman fired in Sydney for saying Taiwan's not part of China

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.”

EVENTS