Located along ancient paths that were for centuries off limits to anyone but emperors, concubines, eunuchs and court guards, the coffee shop has drawn amazed stares and comments from many of the 1.6 million foreign tourists who visit the World Heritage Site each year.
Despite lowering its profile with the removal of its trademark signboards, opposition has never been as focused as this week. The trigger was a blog entry posted on Monday by Rui Chenggang, a TV anchorman, who called for a web campaign against the outlet that, he wrote in his blog, “tramples over over Chinese culture”.
According to local media, half a million people have signed his online petition and dozens of newspapers have carried prominent stories about the controversy. “The Starbucks was put here six years ago, but back then, we didn’t have blogs. This campaign is living proof of the power of the web”, said Rui. “The Forbidden City is a symbol of China’s cultural heritage. Starbucks in a symbol of lower middle class culture in the west. We need to embrace the world, but we also need to preserve our cultural identity. There is a fine line between globalisation and contamination.”
The palace museum – which runs the site – have ignored previous opinion polls, which suggest 70% of people dislike having a Starbucks in such a place. But the authorities now appear to be taking note. “The museum is working with Starbucks to find a solution by this June in response to the protests,” Xinhua news agency quoted museum spokesman Feng Nai’en as saying. “Whether or not Starbucks remains depends on the entire design plan that will be released in the first half of the year.”
The US firm said it has no plans to relocate. “Starbucks appreciates the deep history and culture of the Forbidden City and has operated in a respectful manner that fits within the environment,” Eden Woon, vice-president for greater China, told Reuters. “We have provided a welcome place of rest for thousands of tourists, both Chinese and foreign, for more than six years. We are honoured to have the opportunity, under an agreement with the Forbidden City, to enhance visitors’ museum experience.”
Starbucks are not the only western firm under pressure to leave China’s heritage heartland. Mr Rui is already considering his next target: American Express sponsorship signs.
“I really loathe them. The introduction to every site says, ‘Made possible by American Express’. It is as if the Mona Lisa had a label saying, ‘Made possible by the People’s Bank of China’,” Mr Rui said. “But please don’t interpret this as an act of nationalism. It is just about we Chinese people respecting ourselves. I actually like drinking Starbucks coffee. I am just against having one in the Forbidden City.”
Starbucks in a symbol of lower middle class culture in the west.
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I’m not a Starbucks coffee drinker. I’m pretty sure I’ve never bought a drink at Starbucks. I’m not a Dunkie’s consumer either…
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but I never considered Starbucks consumers to be lower middle class, or part of that “structure” whatever that means. Does Starbucks not cater to all of the middle class, not to mention some of the lower and upper class? Am I craxy?
Yeah, that caught my eye, too. I just chalk it up to the usual confusion that results from the old fun-house mirror of cross-cultural understanding. Perhaps — based on the demographics around those other franchise operations — they think all American franchises cater only to folks they see as lower-middle class.
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I looked for a link to the “online petition”, but couldn’t find it. I did find this amusing:
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As to the class comment, I agree that this is an interesting examples of cross-culturalism. I lived in London for a year and remember one of my conclusions was that the whole society was obsessed by class in a way that is not discussed as much in this country. Maybe we’ll get there in a few more centuries, especially now that we’ve eliminated — by law and-or practice — the inheritance tax. A few more generations and we’ll have our own hereditary aristocracy. The Bush family is already getting us started.