Gao Zhibin said in a variety show in Taiwan that ordinary mainland Chinese people can't afford to eat "tea eggs", attracting attention.

Ko said in the program that Taiwanese people dare to spend money when they see mainland tour groups coming to Taiwan, but they are only 40 million to 50 million of the 1.4 billion mainlanders, and may come from big cities. The program offers advice on how Taiwanese companies can start food and beverage businesses on the mainland.

The report said the video has become a big hit online, highlighting the cognitive divide among Taiwanese people. In recent days, the video has been revived on social media in mainland China after students in Taipei "occupied" the legislature to protest the passage of the cross-strait trade in services agreement by Taiwan's ruling party.

As of the afternoon of the 24th, it was reported that "tea eggs" had become the most hotly discussed topic on Sina Weibo. Most people in the comments ridiculed Gao's claim that mainlanders can't afford to eat tea eggs. The per capita income in mainland China is about 7,500 U.S. dollars a year, while a tea egg usually costs less than 25 cents, according to the report.

Gao reiterated his earlier feelings in a November 2013 interview. He said more than half of mainland Chinese farmers really can't afford to consume tea eggs.

The report added that many netizens teased Gao by exaggerating the importance of tea eggs to mainlanders and pretending to agree with Gao about how they were a dream come true.