P.M. BRIEFING : China Again Can ‘Do Chicken Right’

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —  Kentucky Fried Chicken today reopened its three fast-food outlets in strife-torn Beijing, including its flagship restaurant at Tian An Men Square ordered closed June 4 for the safety of its 200 Chinese employees.

“None of our stores received any damage, and we have no word that any of our employees were injured” in the confrontation last weekend between soldiers and pro-democracy demonstrators, said Gregg Reynolds, a vice president for the fried chicken chain based in Louisville.

The three-story, 12,000-square-foot Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant on the square was formally dedicated Nov. 12, 1988. It is the first Western fast-food outlet in China. With 510 seats, it is also the world’s largest.