Jolted by Starbucks in Forbidden City

Regarding “Battle brews over Beijing Starbucks,” Jan. 19:

My wife and I visited Beijing in November and were surprised to see that Starbucks was as pervasive throughout China’s big cities as it was in the U.S.

While traveling, we visited Starbucks to evaluate consistency, price and so forth, relative to the U.S. stores, but we did not visit the location in the Forbidden City.

No matter how “respectful” Starbucks’ actions have been in China, it was appalling to see it in the Forbidden City. Could you imagine a Starbucks inside the National Archives?

Greg Fuhrman

Los Angeles