Keith Gao, the store manager of Me+Crepe in Richmond, said they held the event to support anyone who was going to join the pro-China rally in downtown Vancouver.

“I love China; I love Hong Kong” was the secret password at a local crepe restaurant on Alexandra Road last Saturday.

After reciting the phrase, which is code for a pro-Chinese government stance, customers were welcome to select any kind of crepe for free at Me+Crepe, a chain restaurant in Richmond’s Golden Village.

News of the promotion was posted the evening before the rally on WeChat, the popular Chinese social media platform.

“As patriots, you have worked so hard. Please have some food (before heading to the rally),” the posting stated.

Keith Gao, the store manager of Me+Crepe in Richmond, said they held the event to support anyone who was going to join the pro-China rally in downtown Vancouver.

"As Chinese, we are very patriotic about our country," Gao said.

"Even if we have been living abroad for a long time, we still love our mother country. Lots of students visited our store last Saturday, and they had Chinese flags in hand and were dressed in red."

Gao added that their store gave out about $500 worth of crepes to more than 50 people.

Me+Crepe, which specializes in Jianbing, a type of fried pancake which is popular in China, currently has five locations across Metro Vancouver, including the one in Richmond.