“Rights groups warn KFC over Tibet opening”, 9 Mar 2016

Campaign groups warned …KFC…over the opening of its first restaurant in Tibet, more than a decade after the chain’s first attempt to establish a foothold ended in controversy. The Dalai Lama…condemned the idea when it was first mooted, and critics said the firm needed to address human rights and environmental concerns.

Alistair Currie, of London-based Free Tibet, told AFP: “Tibet is an occupied country and Tibetans have been squeezed out of business and economic development by Han Chinese immigration and China’s imposition of Mandarin as the language of education, business and government.” KFC’s parent company Yum Brands needed to ensure Tibetans were hired and promoted fairly in the restaurant, and that the Tibetan language was used, he said.

Yum declined to comment on the opening, but the company previously said it would “provide employment opportunities and support the development of the regional supply chain”. The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, wrote a letter of protest to Yum at the time, declaring that the cruel treatment endured by chickens raised and killed for KFC “violates Tibetan values”.