Starbucks Forbidden
Interesting to see how Chinese bloggers are gaining power and influence. A blogger has attacked Starbucks’ presence in the Forbidden city, and now it looks like the coffee chain faces eviction from the ancient palace of the emperors. At least one American spin doctor in China is saying that Starbucks is probably one of the least tacky things about the way the authorities present their heritage.
But it’s good that the ordinary citizen bloggers are having their say, isn’t it? But perhaps not all is quite what it seems. The blogger in question is Rui Chenggang, a TV anchorman. Of course I do not know him, or his work, but I can’t help thinking that as a leading Chinese mainstream media person, he perhaps has official sanction for his view - or at least a sense of what would go down well with the official mandarins.
Perhaps the Chinese Government is using blogs to disseminate its message.
