A member of China's parliament has called for the closure of the Starbucks coffee shop located inside the Forbidden City in Beijing, Reuters reported, citing state media. Jiang Hongbin, the National People's Congress delegate for the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, said: "As long as [Starbucks] stays in the imperial palace, it poses a challenge to our traditional culture." Jiang's outburst comes two months after a television host launched an online campaign to remove the outlet of the US coffee shop chain from the former home of China's emperors. The Palace Museum management have promised to resolve the issue by the end of June. Meanwhile the seven-year-old shop, which generates rent that is used for museum maintenance, continues to operate, albeit now without its logo on display.
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