A Chinese coffee chain has apologized and changed its name after state media roasted it for misusing a word revered by the nation’s communist government. People’s Cafe decorates most of its branches in bright red, often with a star on their storefront, evoking a very Chinese Communist Party aesthetic – as well as using a typeface inspired by the calligraphy of China’s first communist leader, Mao Zedong.
The company issued an apology Saturday, days after state media singled it out for riding on the “gimmick economy.” As in many officially communist states, the term “people” – or “renmin,” in Mandarin – is deployed liberally but earnestly by the Chinese government.