Taipei [Taiwan], December 17 (ANI): Staff from the Chinese embassy attempted to disrupt an awards ceremony at an international tea competition in France earlier this month after the organiser mentioned Taiwan and displayed the Republic of China flag, according to a report in the Taipei Times.

Hsieh Chung-lin, chief executive of the Juxin Tea Factory in Lishan, Taichung, attended the Teas of the World International Contest on December 2, held at the Peruvian Embassy in Paris.

He received a special award for his Huagang Snow Source Tea from the nonprofit Agency for the Valorisation of Agricultural Products (AVPA).

During the award ceremony, two representatives from the Chinese embassy stood up and shouted, 'Taiwan is just a province of China' and 'Taiwan is part of China,' as shown in video footage of the event.

The organisers ignored the interruption and continued with the ceremony, while the audience booed the embassy staffers and applauded Hsieh.

During a dinner held after the event, Hsieh said many attendees had learned about Taiwan through its effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Taipei Times report.

He noted that people he spoke to at the event said China's actions would only foster resentment and encouraged him to disregard the protest.

Reflecting on the incident, Hsieh said that as long as Taiwanese people continue to perform exceptionally, similar to Taiwan's contributions during the pandemic, the global community would recognise Taiwan.

In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Hsiao Kuang-wei urged China to adhere to international etiquette norms to avoid becoming a 'laughingstock' in the eyes of the world. He emphasised that Beijing could improve cross-strait relations only by engaging in respectful and equal discussions with Taiwan and by rationally viewing the current situation, as cited by the Taipei Times.

Hsieh's tea factory, which traces its roots to Songboling in Nantou County, is a family legacy passed down to him as the fifth generation. It prospered under his father, Hsieh Hsi-hung, and has a century-old tradition of tea production, with plantations across Fushou Mountain, Lishan and Dayuling.

The AVPA, established in 2005, organises contests that attract more than 700 producers from around the world each year, according to its official website.

This year's participants also included tea producers from the United States, Japan and Sri Lanka, the Taipei Times reported. (ANI)