China's Web 'monster' bares its teeth

Hiroyuki Sugiyama / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

Whenever visiting Beijing's Forbidden City--a UNESCO World Heritage site that represents the glory of the Qing dynasty--I always used to end by popping into the Starbucks that lay within the city's walls.

After tiring myself out exploring the huge historic site, it was nice to enjoy some familiar flavors in the coffee shop that stood in a busy part of the world tourist destination.

But when I visited in July, the Starbucks had gone.

Some self-proclaimed patriots regarded the Starbucks shop in the Forbidden City as a Western invasion of Chinese culture. Others said this was nationalistic, xenophobic prejudice, and a vigorous debate on the question raged over the Internet. The issue was even discussed by the National People's Congress.

Most Chinese try to stay out of politics, however, as they know well how dangerous it can get in this country. So the body managing the Forbidden City compromised by allowing the Starbucks to stay, but saying it was no longer allowed to be independently managed. In response, Starbucks decided to close the branch, deciding that protecting its brand identity was more important than saving that particular store.

Encouraging Starbucks to voluntarily shut down the shop and thus avoiding any political fallout was an expected and normal solution in China.

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