HUANG SHICONG, an "economist" from Taiwan, was quoted as saying on a local TV program that "People on the mainland always eat pickled mustard stems together with instant noodles, but now they cannot afford it", which made himself a joke to all. China Daily writer Zhang Zhouxiang comments:

Zhacai, or pickled mustard stems, cost about 2.5 yuan ($0.35) per 50 grams. As a comparison, the annual disposable income for those working in the private sector on the Chinese mainland is 68,380 yuan while that for the public sector is 82,461 yuan, enough to buy about 4,000 bags.

Yet in the words of the Taiwan "economist", people on the mainland "cannot afford" to eat it anymore.

Zhacai is not the only food that people on the Chinese mainland "cannot afford" in Taiwan TV programs. In 2011, Gao Zhibin, another "scholar" in Taiwan, said that eggs boiled in tea are a luxury on the mainland and the majority of the people "could not afford" them.

As a humorous response to him, one micro blogger after another posted their photos of eggs boiled in tea online, asking "Am I rich enough?" This time, even a major zhacai producer joined in by sharing the news and holding a lucky draw for all those who shared their posts on social media.

It seems certain "economists" from Taiwan are rather ignorant of the true situation on the mainland, yet they are so brave to comment on something they are ignorant of. They turn a blind eye to the 40 years of fast development of the Chinese mainland, and cling to their own prejudices instead.

To obtain accurate information about the mainland would be easy. They only need to go through very simple administrative procedures before buying a flight ticket. However, it is expecting too much of these "economists" to do that because they are already accustomed to staying in their own small circles and rejecting any information from the outside world.

It seems this mentality exists not only among the local "economists", but also the current politicians of Taiwan. For a long time, they have stuck to their own narrow views and refused to admit the global trend. Even though the one China principle has been widely recognized by the world, and the number of countries having "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan is decreasing from small to smaller, they still persist with their pro-independence antics.

Their actions have severely harmed cross-Straits relations, and curbed communications and interactions between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, yet they are still trapped in their own illusions. It is time these Taiwan politicians woke up, or Taiwan will suffer more.