But Starbucks is Tasting the Grounds

The Forbidden City palace in Beijing has announced it is considering closing a Starbucks on its grounds after a state television personality said the American coffeehouse's presence is “eroding Chinese culture.”

“The museum is working with Starbucks to find a solution by this June in response to the protests,” the official Xinhua News Agency quoted a palace spokesman as saying.

A news anchor for China Central Television has led an online campaign to remove the Starbucks, which opened in 2000 at the invitation of palace managers, who needed to raise money to maintain the 587-year-old complex of villas and gardens.

Starbucks' presence “undermined the Forbidden City's solemnity and trampled over Chinese culture,” the anchorman, Rui Chenggang, wrote in his blog.

A renovation has already seen one-third of the shops removed from the vermillion-walled, 178-acre palace. “Whether or not Starbucks remains depends on the entire design plan that will be released in the first half of the year,” said the spokesman. Other businesses on the grounds include bookstores, souvenir shops and Chinese-style teahouses.

Eden Woon, Starbucks' vp for Greater China, declined to say whether the two sides were discussing closing the outlet. But the company did issue a statement defending its operation. “Starbucks appreciates the deep history and culture of the Forbidden City and has operated in a respectful manner that fits within the environment,” the statement said. “We have provided a welcome place of rest for thousands of tourists, both Chinese and foreign, for more than six years.”

The palace Starbucks has been the target of similar criticism in the past. Shortly after it opened, the company agreed to remove an outdoor sign following complaints that it was inappropriate.

Starbucks Corp. (Seattle) opened its first China location in 1999. It now has 220. Chairman Howard Schultz described China last year as the company's No. 1 growth market.