US caught up in Chinese anti-Japan protest

19 Sep 2012, 2:31 pm   -   Source: AP
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Chinese workers of a local Japanese manufacturer Meiko Electronics try to break the the line of policemen to march to the residential block of Japanese in a economic development zone in Wuhan. (EPA)

Chinese workers of a local Japanese manufacturer Meiko Electronics try to break the the line of policemen to march to the residential block of Japanese in a economic development zone in Wuhan. (EPA)

A car carrying the US ambassador to China was damaged after becoming the target of the ongoing, boisterous anti-Japan demonstrators.

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A car carrying the US ambassador to China has been slightly damaged after becoming the target of boisterous anti-Japan demonstrators outraged over a territorial dispute and marking the 81st anniversary of Japan's invasion of China.

The State Department said in a statement on Wednesday that ambassador Gary Locke was unhurt in Tuesday's incident.

The statement said around 50 protesters surrounded Locke's car as he tried to enter the embassy and were eventually removed by Chinese security personnel.

The incident comes amid heightened vigilance for American diplomats following violent attacks on US embassies across the Arab world.

The statement said embassy officials have asked the Chinese government to do everything possible to protect American facilities and personnel.

People across China have engaged in days of furious protests over some East China Sea islands, claimed by Beijing and Tokyo, that Japan purchased last week from a private owner.

The US, a close ally of Japan, says it is staying out of the dispute, but has been the target of Chinese anger.

On Tuesday the dispute mixed with remembrances of a 1931 incident that Japan used as a pretext to invade Manchuria, setting off a brutal occupation of China that ended only at the close of World War II.

Thousands of protesters marched in front of the Japanese Embassy, with some burning Japanese flags and throwing apples, water bottles and eggs.

The daylong demonstration periodically spilled over to the nearby US Embassy.

 

Anti-Japanese Protest

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