TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Louisa Coffee was drawn into politics on Monday after one of its stores said it would not allow political activities on its premises.

Louisa Coffee Puli posted on Facebook after campaigners promoting KMT Legislator Ma Wen-chun’s (馬文君) recall gathered to collect signatures at the shop, using its tables and outdoor space. The store said it provides a place for customers to drink coffee, “but declines all political activities of all parties.”

KMT Chair Eric Chu (朱立倫) responded to the incident on Wednesday by purchasing coffee from the store for party members. “Support Louisa,” he posted on Facebook, alongside an image of himself drinking the chain’s coffee.

Ma also sought to align herself with Louisa on Wednesday, posting photos of herself with the chain’s drinks. She added that she respects those who promote recall legally without disrupting ordinary people’s lives.

Meanwhile, DPP Spokesperson Han Ying (韓瑩) said the party was not associated with the civic groups campaigning outside the store, per CNA. Han added the DPP will always respect civic groups’ autonomy.

The coffee shop that turned away the campaigners is on the premises of Puli Brewery, a company of the state-owned Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation. In a video of the incident, a staff member asks campaigners how they should respond if Ma asked about them using Louisa Coffee’s space.

Corporation Spokesperson Liao Chih-hien told CNA on Thursday that the brewery’s deputy director and chair of its labor union were among the staff who asked the campaigners to leave. Liao said that the corporation must always remain neutral and that Ma had not asked for the campaigners to be removed.