The McDonald’s store in the home of former leader Chiang Ching-kuo in Hangzhou, China’s has started a debate.
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“The old houses around West Lake are inseparable parts of the lake…”
Chiang Ching- Kuo get to be Taiwan in 1978’s chief.
But officials said the decision to lease it to McDonald’s was made because they needed to cover maintenance costs.
Chiang Ching-Kuo is the son of revolutionary figure and Taiwanese leader Chiang Kai-shek, who fled to the island in 1949 after the Chinese Civil War.
Another said: “The sign [on the building] says it’s a heritage site. As it’s historical heritage, it should not be commercialised!”
What’s behind the China-Taiwan divide?
Now, Chiang’s grandson – businessman Demos Chiang – has had his say on the matter, complaining about the restaurant’s opening on on microblogging site, Weibo.
Residents were reportedly anxious that the golden arches were not classy enough for the venue, but they were assured that the villa would host the comparatively elegant McCafe, as opposed to a regular McDonald’s.
“We said that the villa’s sociocultural value outstrips its commercial value, but in the end our proposal was ignored”, he told the paper.
As well as the McDonald’s outlet on the ground floor, the historic building also houses a recently-opened Starbucks, which experienced a in 2000 after setting up a branch in Beijing’s Forbidden City.
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Local authorities had been trying to rent out the building, which is officially listed as a historical site, for years, according to local reports.
