For six years, visitors to the Forbidden City have been met with a highly incongruous sight, that of a Starbucks outlet nestled away beside the lacquered eaves and painted halls of the former Imperial residence. While public outcry about this has been nigh on constant, the debate was given international attention this week. Should the Forbidden City cast out Starbucks in the name of cultural preservation or is it a price to pay for China's modernization?
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