Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 5, 1990 TAG: 9007050009
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A crew from McDonald's in Hong Kong flew to China for the occasion, and prepared the coveted burgers and fries on U.S. Embassy grounds in a tradition begun in 1983.
Despite gray skies and a mid-afternoon shower, about 900 Americans showed up for the annual party, munching to the strains of country music.
Tickets this year were limited. In the past, the event was an elaborate daylong block party open to all, complete with children's parades, dragon dances, Chinese acrobatics and firecrackers.
Last year, however, the embassy held only a small ceremony for its personnel. Nearly all Americans in Beijing had fled following the June 3-4 military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.
In Moscow, curious Soviets gathered outside the gates of Spaso House, the residence of U.S. Ambassador Jack Matlock, watching the arrival of guests at the annual Fourth of July reception.
Guests mingled on the lawn in the hazy sunshine, enjoying California champagne and hors d'oeuvres.
Dignitaries present included Yelena Bonner, widow of the late dissident Andrei Sakharov; several members of the Supreme Soviet legislature; and dozens of other ambassadors and military attaches in full dress uniform.
A huge American flag was draped from the second story of Matlock's residence.
But the flag did not fare so well in the Philippines, where about 500 militants protesting U.S. bases in the country burned a flag in front of the embassy to mark July 4 - which is also Philippines-American Friendship Day.
About 100 riot police stood guard, but there were no clashes.
"What festivities should we celebrate?" the militants said in a statement. "In fact, we are the ones being feasted on . . . by American imperialism."
The United States ruled the Philippines as a colony for nearly 50 years before independence on July 4, 1946.
In London, that very British of institutions, Harrods department store, kicked off its annual summer sale with an American bang.
Actor John Forsythe, Dynasty's Blake Carrington, greeted shoppers outside the store accompanied by baton-twirling majorettes, a 100-piece Dixieland band and an Uncle Sam on stilts.
In West Germany, where a quarter million U.S. military personnel live along with their families, celebrations were held at Frankfurt's East Park carnival grounds, and they included amusement park rides, an old-fashioned rodeo, as well as traditional German beer and wurst.
The festivities, attended by tens of thousands of Germans and Americans, were to end with an evening fireworks display.
In Paris, groundbreaking ceremonies were held for a multimillion-dollar American Center on the eastern edge of the city.
Designed by architect Frank O. Gehry of Santa Barbara, Calif., the new center will be the biggest cultural center in Paris, Mayor Jacques Chirac told hundreds of guests.
by CNB