People in China are rioting at KFC restaurants and shattering iPhones
Kim Kyung Hoon/ReutersKFC's staff wait for customers at its restaurant in Beijing October 9, 2013. People are protesting and boycotting KFC locations across China.
Following last week's ruling that Beijing had no legal claim in the South China Sea, many Chinese citizens are blaming the US. And, blaming the US means targeting American institutions, which, in China, means KFC.
On Monday, protests broke out at KFC locations in about a dozen cities across China, with calls for boycott, reports the New York Times.
"Boycott the US, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. Love the Chinese people," a banner outside a KFC in Hebei read. "What you eat is KFC. What is lost is the face of our ancestors."
Nationalists protesting outside a #KFC in Yangzhou, #China. Notice the iPhone in photo 3? (Photos via @guolu7053) pic.twitter.com/TB78jsL41M- Thomas·? (@iChinadian) July 19, 2016
While Chinese customers see KFC as an American icon, for parent company Yum, China is a key part of business - a larger proportion, in fact, than the US market. There are 4,889 KFC locations in China, compared to 4,338 in the US. In the last quarter, KFC China sales increased 3%, a higher-than-expected boost.
In addition to protesting KFC, people in China are demonstrating their discontent by destroying another American icon: the iPhone. According to Mashable, videos have emerged of people smashing their iPhones to protest perceived American political meddling.