Why Starbucks is now on Hong Kong protesters’ business boycott list

Early on in Hong Kong’s protest movement, the choice of where one shopped, ate, and drank quickly became a political statement. Shopping malls owned by local developer Sun Hung Kai Properties, for example, were blacklisted by protesters after it was accused of allowing riot police to enter and carry out a violent crackdown. Yoshinoya, the Japanese fast-food chain, was similarly pilloried by protesters (paywall) when its local franchise owner, a pro-Beijing businessman, voiced support of the Hong Kong government to contain fallout from a social media post that poked fun at the police.