Taiwan bubble tea chains face backlash in mainland China after Hong Kong franchises ‘express support for protesters’
- Angry social media users call for boycott of Yifang Fruit Tea and CoCo after franchises urged Hongkongers to ‘add oil’ amid wave of protests
Popular Taiwanese bubble tea chains are facing an angry backlash from mainland Chinese consumers after some of their franchises in Hong Kong appeared to express support for the anti-government protests that have swept the city.
Pictures of a branch of Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea that closed during Monday’s citywide strike went viral on Weibo, the mainland’s most popular social media network, because of a notice in its window that read: “We are closing the business for a day with the rest of Hong Kong. Hongkongers, add oil!” – a popular phrase adopted by the protesters. It is not known which of the city’s 20 branches was shown in the photo.
“Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea, I don’t know if you’re joking or whether this is deliberate. If it is intentional, then I will never drink your tea ever again in my life,” wrote a Weibo user in a post on Wednesday that gained more than 24,000 likes.
Other users boasted of putting the brand on their personal blacklist of Taiwanese brands suspected of supporting independence for the island.
Other Taiwanese bubble tea chains have also been dragged into the latest controversy – particularly CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice.