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

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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."

Jason Li, the owner of Me+Crepe, told the Richmond News that their company slogan is “all-inclusive,” and they support all Canadian values, including freedom and democracy.

“We are all proud to be Canadian; we love Canada, and we hope to spread the love instead of hatred,” said Li.

Li added that Gao’s opinions didn’t represent the restaurant; he didn’t want the public to associate the business with politics.

To celebrate Richmond World Festival, Me+Crepe in Richmond plans to launch the “love Canada” event on Aug. 31.

Richmondites could be offered free crepes by using the secret password “I love Canada,” and the event is available from noon to 3:00 p.m.

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.