Starbucks is off menu of the emperors
16/7/2007 9:30
The Starbucks coffee shop in Beijing's Forbidden City has been closed
after the company rejected an offer to move into a combined shop with other
drink sellers.
The US coffee chain's logo was immediately removed from
the traditional Chinese-style window panes at the former home of Chinese
emperors. A souvenir store next to the coffee shop was also closed.
A
manager of the Forbidden City, known in China as the Palace Museum, said its
management had offered to continue serving Starbucks coffee alongside other
brands at a planned beverage store that will also sell domestic
coffee.
He said Starbucks turned down the offer.
"The company
insisted it wanted an independent cafe of its own," said Li Wenru, vice curator
of the Palace Museum. He foresees little chance to continue the cooperation with
Starbucks.
Yang Xiaobo, an official in charge of planning, said
management of the Palace Museum is determined to provide more diverse food,
drinks and souvenirs in an overhaul of the service area close to the Hall of
Preserving Harmony. "We found through a survey that most visitors - from China
and abroad - hope to taste some imperial food at the emperors' former home,"
Yang said.
Sixty percent of visitors said they were most interested in
souvenirs featuring the Palace Museum for less than 200 yuan
(US$26).
"We're tailoring a new snack menu and new souvenirs to meet
tourist demands," Yang said.
A news anchor of China Central Television
asked Starbucks to move out of the Forbidden City in a blog article in January
and was backed by more than half a million Internet users.
In response,
the museum management promised to reach a solution with Starbucks by the end of
June.
A member of China's parliament revived the call at this year's
session of the National People's Congress in March, saying the American coffee
shop posed a challenge to traditional Chinese culture.
An opinion piece
in Friday's Beijing Morning Post questioned Chinese "cultural tolerance" over
Starbucks. "Why are some Chinese so hostile towards foreign companies that enter
such landmarks as the Forbidden City, but feel so proud when a Chinese
businessman buys into a German airport," the Post writer said.
The writer
refers to Pang Yuliang from central Henan Province, president of a logistics
company, Linde Group, known in English as LinkGlobal Logistics Co, who acquired
Parchim Airport in northern Germany at a cost of one billion yuan. Pang is the
first Chinese citizen to acquire the permanent operating rights to a European
airport.
Xinhua
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