"Why Starbucks Needs to Get Out of the Forbidden City? was title of a blog article written by Rui Chenggang, an anchorman on CCTV's English channel. The article has sparked another round of hot debate on whether the American coffee chain should be removed from one of the most important landmarks of Chinese civilization.
Anchorman: this is trampling on Chinese culture.Perhaps it is acceptable to have a Starbucks outlet near the Forbidden City, Rui wrote in his article, but it is "obscene" to have it within the City where it will be remembered by visitors as part of this historic Chinese site.
He argues that the coffee shop, a symbol of popular culture in America and western countries as a whole, doesn't blend in at the Forbidden City. He goes so far as to call it "visual pollution? "It is not globalizing; it is trampling on Chinese culture,?he said.
Museum spokesman: we will stick to principles of conservation The Museum's spokesman Feng Nai'en responded to the accusation in an interview with the Beijing Morning Post. He said that the museum was in discussions with Starbucks to find a proper solution, with the outcome to be decided by mid-year at the very latest.
