Local Chinese Have Mixed Feelings About U.S.-China Conflict

The showdown between China and the United States was a hot topic among Chinese living in the United States. But many Chinese are reluctant to talk to the media about the issue.

Some Chinese people in Raleigh are torn between their love for the United States, and their dislike of a style some call arrogant.

Raleigh restaurant owner Mark Zhu says many Chinese in Raleigh feel like they have two home towns.

"China like a first town. America like a second town for me," he says.

Zhu was born in China and moved to North Carolina in 1993.

He says Chinese are reluctant to speak to the media about tensions between the countries. They tend to be private and are not used to a free press.

Local technology trainer Hugo Uyttenhove was in China when the plane made the now-famous emergency landing.

"Television is mostly in the hands of the government, and so is the radio," he says. "The only thing you heard about it was government communiques that were released regularly."

Chinese in America had much more information. Some say privately that they think the U.S. was arrogant for not immediately apologizing to China.

Mark Zhu says Chinese here want harmony between the two nations.

"I hope that America with China making friends forever," he says.