Taiwan Ex-President's Historic Villa Turned Into A McDonald's

The "McCafe" opened last week in Hangzhou city near the famed West Lake tourist spot in the former home of late Taiwanese President Chiang Ching-kuo, the China Daily newspaper reported.

Officials say space was leased out to McDonald's as they need funds to meet the house's high maintenance costs.

Mr Chiang's grandson and others have voiced their concern over the commercialisation of the site.

Even prior to the opening of the Western chains in Chiang's villa, the area surrounding West Lake was peppered with McDonald's and Starbucks.

An unnamed Zhejiang official dismissed the historical and cultural value of the property by pointing out that Chiang only lived in the villa for a brief time and the interior had already undergone drastic changes.

The coffee shop was opened doors on Sunday and immediately gained outrage from the Chinese people, with most pointing accusing fingers at local businessman Shen Chunlei, who opened the McCafe.

Chiang Ching- Kuo get to be Taiwan in 1978's chief.

China has sparked a heritage row after turning the home of Taiwan's former president into a McDonald's.

"I don't understand, opening a McDonald's in the villa... how exactly does that adhere to regulations on correct usage of cultural heritage sites?" he said in a post.

In 2000, Beijing saw a similar controversy when a Starbucks outlet opened in the Forbidden City.

Reports suggest that conservationists had called for the villa to be turned into a museum.

One of them, Zhejiang University academic Zhou Fuduo, noted that the villa was a symbol of China and Taiwan's shared history.

Maintaining the building was apparently too costly, however, and Hangzhou authorities said they needed extra funds for the building's upkeep.

The property was one of the former homes of Chiang Ching-Kuo, who died in 1988.