A few points to remember. I know it is so hard for you NOT to revert to streotypes and would like everyone from one country to be 'The Enemy', but:
1) This isn't 'Chinese thinking' - it's the brain-washing of a small 'communistic' elite.
2) A similar thing could be said for the Iraqi people.
Here's a scenario for you. A Chinese recon. plane is 12 miles from New York (within international airspace), there is a collision between a buzzing F-18 and said 'spy' plane (which was apparently flying straight and level). The US pilot is killed, while the Chinese plane makes an emergency landing.
Would the US people be criticizing the US pilot, which is the reasonable thing to do? I doubt it.
So please stop with the jingoistic posturing - this is a political incident, not a nationalisitc one. The Chinese are in the wrong, but you must remember the actual Chinese population have nothing to do with it. Those that have spoken out, have been 'encouraged' to do so, if you get my meaning.
Remember also that the Chinese regime has actually stopped demonstrators appearing outside the Chinese embassy, unlike with the 'unfortunate' (now that IS an understatement) cruise misslie/Chinese embassy thing, in which the opposite was the case. The regime was actually bus-ing them in for their 'two-minute hate' after that missile hit. They've been a little more restrained this time.
Udie - perhaps it hasn't made the news in whatever back-water you come from, but there was a revolution type thing in Russia about 10 years ago - it isn't communist anymore. Sorry for destroying those ever-so-comforting illusions.
BTW, true 'Chinese' thinking gave us one of the most progressive and technologically advanced societies in the history of the planet. Before the popular revolution, they had a traceable history going back 4500 years. Which is a little bit longer than the 200+ years your nation has been around.
[This message has been edited by Dowding (edited 04-08-2001).]