The McCafe opened on Friday last week in the former residence of former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), near West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.
A side wing of the two-storey wood and brick lakeside villa had already been turned into a Starbucks last month.
Chiang lived in the Western-style villa with his family for a short time in 1948. Local authorities had been trying to rent out the building, which is officially listed as a historical site, for years, according to local reports.
Photo: AFP
“Why have they not opened a KFC at Yan’an [the birthplace of the Chinese Communist Party revolution]?” one user wrote on a microblog.
Another said: “The sign [on the building] says it is a heritage site. It should retain its original history and culture. As it is historical heritage, it should not be commercialized!”
However, another, describing herself as an architecture student in Hangzhou, said: “McDonald’s have maintained the old structure and have kept the original Chinese style. It is not only heritage protection, it is also convenient for tourists.”
Chiang’s grandson, Demos Chiang (蔣友柏), has previously said that he was approached to take part in the building’s restoration, but refused to cooperate once he discovered it was being turned into a McDonald’s.
A McDonald’s spokesperson declined to comment.
Young Chinese, many who fear age discrimination in their workplace after turning 35, are increasingly starting “one-person companies” that have artificial intelligence (AI) do most of the work. Smaller start-ups are already in vogue in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, with rapidly advancing AI tools seen as a welcome teammate even as they threaten layoffs at existing firms. More young people in China are subscribing to the model, as cities pledge millions of dollars in funding and rent subsidies for such ventures, in alignment with Beijing’s political goal of “technological self-reliance.” “The one-person company is a product of the AI era,” said Karen Dai
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
About 240 Indians claiming descent from a Biblical tribe landed at Tel Aviv airport on Thursday as part of a government operation to relocate them to Israel. The newcomers passed under a balloon arch in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, as dozens of well-wishers welcomed them with a traditional Jewish song. They were the first “bnei Menashe” (“sons of Manasseh”) to arrive in Israel since the government in November last year announced funding for the immigration of about 6,000 members of the community from the states of Manipur and Mizoram in northeast India. The community claims to descend from
‘TROUBLING’: The firing of Phelan, who was an adviser to a nonprofit that supported the defense of Taiwan, was another example of ‘dysfunction’ under Trump, a US senator said US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan has been fired, a US official and a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in another wartime shakeup at the Pentagon coming just weeks after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ousted the Army’s top general. The Pentagon announced his departure in a brief statement, saying he was leaving the administration “effective immediately,” but it did not provide a reason or say whether it was his decision to go. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Phelan was dismissed in part because he was moving too slowly to implement reforms to
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