Hong Kong pro-democracy protest message sparks online storm in a Starbucks coffee cup
- American chain’s China operation flooded with complaints after barista serves slogan on mainlander’s order in troubled city
A claim that a Starbucks barista in Hong Kong wrote a pro-democracy message on cups intended for mainland customers has provoked an angry outburst against the American coffee shop giant on Chinese social media.
A verified user on the Twitter-like Weibo platform claimed on Monday that his friend had ordered three drinks in Mandarin from the Peking Road branch of Starbucks in the Tsim Sha Tsui tourist district, which is popular with mainland Chinese, and found the barista had written “dear, democracy is a good thing” on the cups.
“I don’t know if this is specifically targeted. My friend said the Southeast Asian customers behind them did not get that message written on their cups,” the user wrote to his 29,000 followers. He also posted a photo of the three cups and tagged Starbucks China.
“My friend and I are very angry, but didn’t bring it up at the time for our safety. I think at this particular time, a global chain like Starbucks should really keep their employees’ conduct within bounds, and not let customers spend money buying something that makes them disgusted.”
The slogan “dear, democracy is a good thing” has been used at marches in Tsim Tsa Tsui, specifically targeting mainland shoppers, with protesters using Mandarin to make their message heard.
An employee at Tsim Sha Tsui Starbucks said they would look into the matter of the cups. Starbucks has been contacted for comment.