THE former residence of Chiang Kai-shek, who led the Koumintang government in the wartime capital of Chongqing during the war against Japanese aggression (1937-1945), is being demolished, and online posts have sparked a loud controversy.

今日，一张关于“蒋介石重庆行营被拆”的照片在网上引起了巨大关注。蒋介石的重庆行营是日本侵华战争爆发后，国民党政府迁都重庆时蒋介石的府邸。

The brick-and-tile compound built in 1935 was listed by Chongqing authorities in 2009 as a heritage site, but they recently said the buildings are in such a dilapidated state that they are beyond repair, and they will have to be rebuilt at the original site, according to a Xinhua news agency report.

这幢砖瓦结构的建筑建于1935年，2009年被重庆当地政府列为遗产古迹。但根据新华社的新闻报道，近日当地政府称建筑已经破烂荒废无法修复，所以他们打算在原址上复建行营。

The officials said the buildings will be carefully dismantled, brick by brick, and old construction materials will be used again in the compound's restoration, which is scheduled for completion by October 2013.

当地政府称进行的是一点一点的保护性拆除，原来的建筑材料也会在复建时用到，复建工作将在2013年10月完工。

The buildings' roofs have been pulled down. Only the bricks and some wood frames are left and rubble is being removed, the report said.

根据报道，记者赶往现场时，行营的屋顶已经被拆除了，仅剩一些砖木残体，砖块瓦砾已经被搬走。

Restoration work will begin in August, said Xu Xiaoyu, a heritage protection official in Yuzhong District where the compound is located. "We are dismantling it for the purpose of its preservation."

行营位于重庆市渝中区，该区的文物管理所所长徐晓渝告诉记者，复建工作将从8月开始，“现在进行的拆除工作也是保护项目的一部分”。

But Xu's "demolition for preservation" argument provoked anger among some in the media and public.

不过徐晓渝“保护性拆除”的观点却引来媒体和公众的愤怒情绪。

A microblogger wrote: "Demolish and preservation is antonym. I totally can't understand the 'demolition for preservation.'"

一位微博网友这样写到：“拆除和保护完全是反义词好吧？我根本不能理解'保护性拆除'这种矛盾的观点。”