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As the Chinese bubble tea brand Chagee was preparing for the grand opening of its first store in Vietnam, a serious incident occurred, sparking outrage online. Specifically, the brand became embroiled in a controversy regarding the display of the illegal "nine-dash line" on its app and website, a serious violation of Vietnam's territorial sovereignty.
The incident originated from a post on Chagee Vietnam's official fan page. The post included a link to the brand's app, and upon accessing the app, users discovered that China's illegal "nine-dash line" appeared on the map. This action immediately caused widespread outrage in the Vietnamese online community, as the "nine-dash line" is an illegal territorial claim by China in the South China Sea, strongly opposed by both the international community and Vietnam.
Chagee is considered the "giant" of Chinese bubble tea.
Chagee's display of the "nine-dash line" on its app was deemed a serious violation of Vietnam's territorial sovereignty and sparked a strong boycott from Vietnamese consumers. Many users demanded a clear explanation from Chagee and the removal of the illegal "nine-dash line" image from its app. This incident caused a major media crisis for Chagee and raised serious questions about the brand's future in the Vietnamese market.
The original post read: "Vietnam, are you ready to take on the challenge with Chagee? Join the word guessing game now. Find and enter the name of a Chagee tea product from the alphabet for a chance to win a Chagee fresh whole-leaf milk tea. Download the Chagee app and participate here..."
The image of the nine-dash line (or "cow's tongue line") is used in the app of this bubble tea brand from China.
The outrage among the Vietnamese online community didn't stop at the initial posts. Numerous other posts on Chagee Vietnam's official fan page quickly garnered thousands of "outraged" reactions and countless comments expressing anger and indignation over the milk tea brand's use of a map containing the illegal "nine-dash line."
Following a strong boycott and rising outrage from the Vietnamese online community, the bubble tea brand Chagee has quietly removed its app from the Google Play Store and App Store. The app access links that Chagee Vietnam had previously advertised are also no longer working, making it inaccessible to users.
The Chagee app no longer displays the installation option for the Vietnam region. When users try to access it, the platform displays a message saying, "The app is currently unavailable in your region." This suggests that Chagee has taken steps to prevent Vietnamese users from downloading its app.
The premises of the recently constructed bubble tea shop.
However, the matter didn't end there. While the Chagee app in Vietnam was removed, the Chagee HK (Hong Kong) app continued to display the map containing the illegal "nine-dash line." Furthermore, the official Chagee website also contained a map with the nine-dash line, indicating that the infringement persists across the brand's other platforms.
Also on the morning of March 18th, the Chagee sign at the construction site at the corner of Nguyen Thiep and Dong Khoi streets in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, was removed and replaced with a blue tarpaulin. This was the brand's first store in Vietnam. Currently, construction is still ongoing inside the building, but the completion date has not been disclosed. The removal of the Chagee sign comes after many Vietnamese consumers called for a boycott of the bubble tea brand because the Chagee app displayed a map containing the illegal "nine-dash line."
Netizens call for a boycott of the bubble tea brand.
Chagee, whose Chinese name is Ba Wang Cha Ji, is a high-end bubble tea chain founded in 2017 in Shanghai by founder Zhang Junjie. As of 2024, the system has expanded to over 5,000 stores across East Asia.
Currently, Vietnam doesn't have an official store, but according to some connoisseurs who buy them via personal import from China, each cup usually sells for 95,000-100,000 VND, depending on the flavor. Consumers often order flavors such as jasmine green milk tea, Tie Guan Yin, white peach oolong, rose, etc.
Prior to Chagee, many brands had also been found using map images containing the "nine-dash line" and faced boycotts from the community. Recently, a similar controversy erupted when an image allegedly showing the "nine-dash line" appeared on a Baby Three doll. Before that, the game "Boba Tea DIY Milk Tea Making" on the Google Play app store was found to contain the illegal nine-dash line in its map.
