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Staff of Reuters 3 Minutes to Read (Adds detail, background, updates share price) Reuters, HONG KONG, July 5 – Vitasoy’s stock dropped to an all-time low on Monday when a worker circulated a note giving sympathy to the family of a colleague who stabbed a Hong Kong police officer, prompting online demands for a boycott of the firm in China. Vitasoy stated in a statement posted on the Chinese social media platform Weibo on Saturday that a staff member had published a “very improper” message without permission, and that the firm maintained the right to take legal action. Vitasoy’s stock was trading at HK$25.1, a level not seen since April 2020. It was the greatest one-day loss since the company went public in 1994. The Hong Kong market as a whole was flat. On Thursday, the anniversary of the former British colony’s return to Chinese authority, a 50-year-old Vitasoy worker attacked a police officer, 28, and then killed himself, according to the memo. The stabbing was classified as a lone wolf terrorist incident by police and security officials, who said a computer confiscated from his house revealed he had been “radicalized.” The police did not disclose any additional information concerning his alleged radicalization. The officer’s health has improved from critical to serious. The Vitasoy employee’s message sparked a barrage of online calls for a boycott of the company, which derives two-thirds of its income from mainland China. According to Global Times, a tabloid published by the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s official People’s Daily newspaper, Mainland actor Gong Jun, who previously sponsored a Vitasoy lemon-flavored drink, said late Friday that he was ceasing commercial cooperation with the company. His announcement came after another mainland Chinese actor, Ren Jialun, stated he would no longer work with Vitasoy, according to the publication. On Sunday, Hong Kong police cautioned that encouraging people to mourn the attacker was the same as “supporting terrorism,” and they chastised parents who carried their children to the memorial service. (Donny Kwok contributed reporting; Himani Sarkar and Lincoln Feast edited the piece.)/nRead More

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