Blog about Beef Noodle Soup? You Could Go To Jail…In Taiwan

This is one of those stories that I just couldn’t read and let slide under my radar, so I thought I’d share it with all of you. A blogger in Taiwan was sentenced to 30 days in jail and a fine of NT$200,000 (roughly $7,000 USD) for criticizing the beef noodle soup at a Taiwanese restaurant, claiming it was too salty.

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Apparently the blogger who often writes about food visited the restaurant in July of this year. After trying a variety of dishes she concluded that the beef noodle soup was too salty, the restaurant was unsanitary, and that the owner was causing traffic nightmares by letting people park precariously in front of the establishment. According to the Taipei Times the restaurant owner claimed that the blogger was overly harsh in her review causing customers to question whether or not they should visit his restaurant.

On Tuesday of this week the Taichung branch of the Taiwan High Court decided the blogger had gone too far, if you think the noodles are too salty, jail it is! It may sound crazy…okay it is crazy, but this actually happened. The defense lawyer said that Bloggers in Taiwan should be careful when criticizing restaurants and always make sure to have photo evidence to back-up their claims. For those of us living in countries where free speech is allowed just remember, this is a privilege, in many countries Bloggers could see more than jail time for expressing their opinions.

So next time you think you’re being treated unfairly…just think of what it’s like to get a $7,000 fine and jail time for complaining about beef noodle soup…

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton