Everyone is drinking it, everyone is speaking of it -- the new "Cola Turka" launched in the midst of Turkey's sizzling summer has been an overnight success with some suggesting that a diplomatic spat between Ankara and Wash-ington has helped the new cola take on its better-known US rivals. \n"We didn't chose to take advantage of the political situation," says Eda Gokkan, in charge of the new soda's advertising campaign at Young and Rubicam. \n"We're just trying to sell the Turkish life-style," she said. \nBut the cola's launch two weeks ago coincided with an outbreak of nationalist sentiment in the wake of the arrest by US forces of 11 Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq, according to the sales manager of a supermarket in the center of Istanbul who gave her name as Didem. \n"Because of the war in Iraq, 90 percent of Turks have turned against the United States and many chose to buy local rather than US products," she said. \nThe cola's successful launch "is the result of an la turca reaction'" to the arrest of the Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq on July 4th, the mass daily newspaper Milliyet proclaimed. \nThe soldiers were released 60 hours later, but the whole episode was viewed as a national humiliation and it sparked a diplomatic row with Washington. \nNo reason was officially given for the arrests, but US forces said the Turkish soldiers were acting "suspiciously," adding that explosives were found at their Sulaymaniyah headquarters. \nSome papers have since high-lighted instances of shopkeepers who are refusing to sell US products, including the more famous US colas. \nHurriyet newspaper, quoting a survey by the Roper ASW institute, said the sales of US products had dropped by 13 percent in Turkey in the past few months. \nA tongue-in-cheek TV ad has also helped "Cola Turka," a product sold by the Turkish Ulker food group, gain national attention. \nStarring US comedian Chevy Chase, the TV spot shows Americans adopting Turkish customs as they drink the new cola, from throwing water after a departing car to ensure its smooth journey to growing big moustaches. \n"This isn't Turkish propaganda, but rather positive nationalism," says Serdar Erener, one of those responsible for advertising the new product. \nEarly sales reports suggest Cola Turka has gained a 25 percent market share in a country which consumes 1 billion liters of colas a year, with Coca Cola holding the lion's share. \nWith the cola war now in full swing, the Vatan daily wondered about the implications for domestic politics, since the son of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a local distributor for the new Cola Turka, while the son of former prime minister Mesut Yilmaz, a political rival, is a distributor for Coca Cola.
SOLVED: Domestic orders have already overtaken the total sold to China last year, while the Canadian and US representative offices posted messages of support A joint effort by groups and individuals in Taiwan and abroad to prop up sales of pineapples after China announced a ban on imports of the fruit succeeded in just four days, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday. China on Friday announced that it would suspend imports of Taiwanese pineapples starting on Monday, citing biosafety concerns. Following the announcement, the council urged the public to assist farmers by purchasing pineapples, saying it hoped to sell 20,000 tonnes of the fruit domestically and 30,000 tonnes in exports. “Domestic orders have already surpassed the total sold to China last year,” COA Minister
MAIN CHALLENGE: The US naval commander warned that China would seek to ‘forcibly change’ the balance of power in the region that would likely be permanent The US encourages Taiwan to invest in defense and obtain asymmetric defense capabilities, US Navy Admiral Philip Davidson said on Thursday. Davidson, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, made the remark in a videoconference on defense matters hosted by the American Enterprise Institute think tank. “China is positioned to achieve overmatch” in its military capability by 2026, he said. When Beijing is able to, it would “likely choose to forcibly change” the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region, “and I would say the change in that status quo could be permanent,” he said. “China seeks a new world order, one with Chinese characteristics,
PRIORITY: The 117,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine are to be distributed first to front-line healthcare workers who are most at risk of infection, the center said The first batch of COVID-19 vaccines — 117,000 doses of the AstraZeneca drug — arrived in Taiwan yesterday morning, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said. The vaccines were flown to Taiwan by Korean Air and arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 10:21am, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center. “After being cleared by customs, the vaccines have been transported to a designated cold storage center,” Chen said. “The vaccines are in multidose vials containing 10 doses per bottle, and are being stored in a refrigerated environment of 2°C to 8°C,” he said. AstraZeneca provided the
SETTING THE TONE: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington would seek to collaborate with Beijing when it can, but would be ‘adversarial when it must be’ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked US President Joe Biden’s administration after it issued interim guidance on strategic priorities, including reaffirming support for Taiwan. The 23-page Interim National Security Strategic Guidance report, published by the White House on Wednesday, said that the US would “support Taiwan, a leading democracy and a critical economic and security partner, in line with longstanding American commitments.” Since his inauguration in January, Biden’s administration has expressed robust support for Taiwan and said that the US’ security commitment to the nation was “rock solid,” ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said. Taiwan and the US share the same ideals
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