By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, Dec, 14: One of the leading fast food conglomerate KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken)is set to open its first ever outlet in Lhasa by the end of January 2016, according to Yum Brands Inc. the largest fast food operators in China.
Chinese government mouth piece Xinhua last week reported that the KFC outlet of 540 sq. mtr occupying a two storey space is getting its final touches in Lhasa’s downtown mall Shenlishidai Square shopping centre. The move to open in Tibet comes after a decade of speculation and reasons relating to ‘economic infeasibility’ by the KFC brand which first set shop in China in 1987 when it opened near Tiananmen square.
Xinhua also reported that the KFC is building a 4.67-hectare frozen storage area in a suburb in Lhasa, indicating plans for more outlets in Lhasa and other locations in Tibet.
In a place like Lhasa which is festooned with surveillance cameras, secret as well as regular police and the air itself expressive of a figurative iron curtain, the fast food joint is far from enacting any sort of government led measures to curb or contribute to their designs, yet it is an extension of the Chinese government’s attempt to put up Lhasa and Tibet as a destination for tourist and to influence global perception, say critics and Tibet observers.
China latest ‘White Paper’ published on Sep. 6 this year vehemently claimed that it has pulled out the Tibetan people from “Old and backward Tibet” to “Golden Age” as it marked 50 years of the so called Tibet Autonomous Region the same month with much fanfare and festivity in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
The document also showed huge rise in statistical narration such as the “281 fold increase” in the GDP in Tibet yet conclusive reportage from around the globe like that of ‘The Borgen Project’, reports “Poverty in Tibet has a high rating in China, where 34 percent of the populations live in extreme poverty. The poorest villagers live on only $100 per year.”
Yum foods, the Louisville based American company which operates 6,900 restaurants in China, including 4,900 KFC outlets is now set to serve up Colonel Sander’s recipe to people in Lhasa, something they have planned to do since 2014.
