At a supply station set by Hong Kong Shue Yan Universitystudent union, protesters are providing Pocari Sweat and other drinks to the participants. Photo: Yang Sheng/GT

The Hong Kong subsidiary of Japan-based Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co once again apologized on the Twitter-like social platform Weibo on Sunday for the stance of its drink product on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), where radical protesters consider it as an official drink for anti-extradition bill protests. 

The mainland branch of Pocari Sweat, the sports drink product of Otsuka Pharmaceutical, cited a statement from Hong Kong subsidiary and reiterated on Sunday that it resolutely advocates the principle of "one country, two systems" and the Basic Law of the HKSAR, and it supports the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong as always. 

The Global Times did not see the same move made by its Hong Kong subsidiary on Facebook or Twitter on Sunday.

The Japanese company was harshly criticized in the Chinese mainland for its stance on Hong Kong, after it withdrew advertising from local news channel TVB over alleged bias in favor of local Hong Kong police in its reporting of the recent protests.  

Groups of protesters marched again from Victoria Park on Sunday. They are expected to finish in Wan Chai, where some recycling bags designed for Pocari Sweat have been spotted, as some protesters call it an official drink for opposition groups. The Global Times also saw that many protestors drink Pocari Sweat water during the march.   

Some internet users were furious about the Pocari Sweat repost, calling it an effort by the company to deceive mainland consumers by having fence-sitting approach on Hong Kong. 

"I don't see it apologizing on Facebook, so it comes to post here on Weibo to cheat on us?" a Weibo user with pseudonym PolyUzhiDcupZhanshen said in a message on Sunday. 

"There is no way Chinese people will support a company that does not love China," another netizen called Wujiangdanni said. 

Pocari Sweat has adopted two different strategies when it faces mainland consumers and young people in Hong Kong, and it has put itself into this dilemma as business should be steered clean of politics, analysts said. 

"The sports drink has been hijacked by some bad communication strategy in its Hong Kong office, as some of its employees have shown their intention of supporting the opposition amid rising social tensions in Hong Kong society," Tian Feilong, an associate professor at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

The divergence in the company's marketing strategies in Hong Kong and in the Chinese mainland is likely to anger more mainland consumers, as its decision to withdraw ads from TVB has already been seen as a compromise facing violent protesters in Hong Kong. 

However, Hong Kong opposition groups cheered on Pocari Sweat when it showed its support for them, urging more companies to follow in its steps.