Philosophy 484
Professor Neiman
3/22/12

“Selling Starbucks in the Forbidden City”

Ever since the Starbucks retail outlet has opened in the “Forbidden City” of Beijing, China, there has been a huge controversy over whether this store deserves to be in this sacred area of China’s history. I believe that Starbucks has a moral obligation to operate a retail store in the “Forbidden City.” The first objection from some Chinese citizens is that Starbucks is highly considered an American brand, and that American commerce is destroying Chinese culture that they claim goes back 5000 years. In some cases, people may believe that the Chinese have the cultural right to maintain their culture in places of great history, which would definitely apply to the Forbidden city Museum. This claim against Starbucks contradicts this statement somewhat since there are already thousands of stores in the museum. If the Chinese would have wanted to keep the Forbidden City sacred, you would think that they would have not allowed any stores in the area to keep it original so everyone could see the real history behind the place. Some may counter by saying that Chinese stores should only be allowed simply because it is already part of the Chinese Culture. In the case, it states that there are shops that sell American products, such as coke, cookies, and other merchandise. Wouldn’t this be considered American products and upset some Chinese citizens since it is considered American and not part of their culture? I would sure think so. Another observation I made is that Chinese culture has drastically changed over the years, and is very different from the way it was in ancient China. Many other multi-national corporations are now right in the center of China’s major cities and heavily populated areas. One person said what’s all this stuff about protecting Chinese culture? Are we supposed to get women to rebind their feet? Stating that again, Chinese culture has drastically changed and should be open to new things and ideas. On top of all of this, not all of the Chinese are against the Starbucks in the Forbidden City, and some are even for it.

I believe that Starbucks doesn’t have a moral duty not to interfere with the culture in the Forbidden City. First off, Starbucks is not doing anything illegal and are within the boundaries of Chinese Law. Another thing I noticed is there is no law prohibiting American or multi-national companies from conducting business in China; if anything, it is becoming more and more popular. Some Chinese citizens objected to the Starbucks opening by stating that it would cause serious damage to the area it is located in and the people that are around it. I think this is somewhat invalid, since no one is morally obligated to go visit the café or purchase anything. One could just simply ignore it. Secondly, the café had to be passed through the Forbidden City Board, which shows there were people who were for the Starbucks being here in the first place. So another question may be, “ Is it morally right to kick Starbucks from the Forbidden City even though there are Chinese for it and against it and could cause happiness and unhappiness to others?

Many Chinese citizens may claim that having a Starbucks in the Forbidden City may be American Imperialism and that it takes a lot away from Chinese Culture. Another point of criticism is that Starbucks is the only store in the museum where it is recognized as a true American company. In the text, it says that China has a “love-hate relationship with the United States. To me this comes across as the Chinese being bias only against American companies. Wouldn’t it be morally wrong for the Chinese only to discriminate against American business in the museum? Getting rid of the Starbucks would also put some Chinese workers out of jobs and cause them unhappiness if this action went through. Another point to defend my viewpoint would be that the café is so small it virtually has little or no effect on the overall appearance or setting of the museum; it would not change any of the people’s moods and therefore wouldn’t take away from much of the Chinese culture surrounding it. Another point that may be criticized is that Starbucks entering the Forbidden City may be posing a challenge to Chinese Cultural traditions. I believe that this is not the case. First off, as I stated earlier, the museum visitors have the right not to purchase anything from the store or even visit it in the first place. There aren’t enough stores with American influence to pose a threat in the Forbidden City just yet. If there were ten different Starbucks in the museum, i could see where the Chinese would be upset and say that American values and cultural norms were starting to pose a threat to the Chinese way of life.