Originally Posted by TonyC

That's what the lobby used to look like. Now half of the plate glass walls are gone, having been destroyed by "demonstrators" intent on reaching the Japanese Consulate in the back of the Garden Hotel's office building and the Japanese restaurant on the second floor, where they threw chairs through the windows to break them, too. CNN International is running a piece on the issue -- there are a few seconds of video of the lobby overrun by demonstrators, despite a line of 40-50 police in riot gear trying to protect it.

Panasonic closes China plants after violent protests - CNN.com

China Protests Against Japan Intensify - WSJ.com

It's peaceful today, but the demonstrations are expected to be even larger tomorrow, the 18th of September, as it is the anniversary of a significant event in the 2nd Sino-Japanese war. Oh, that reminds me -- the reason they're demonstrating is to protest the Japanese purchase of disputed islands. Funny, I had no idea there were so many "men on the street" who actually care about some tiny islands.

I'm led to believe that FedEx trips scheduled to use the Garden Hotel in the next 24 hours have been changed to a different hotel. I'm not sure if 24 hours is long enough, but if you're headed to CAN, be on the alert. Hotels and GT vendors have been notified of the changes -- don't expect the pilots to be alerted.






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