The US President's support of the Dalai Lama might have won the hearts
of Tibetans, but the sympathies of Han Chinese were with Jiang and their
government.
Clinton's address at Beijing University aroused the nationalism of the
students who resented being patronised. One asked what was behind Clinton's
smile. Another asked how the American people would react if China were
to send naval ships to Hawaii and sign a security treaty with other countries
against one part of the United States.
These students are the inheritors of a strong nationalistic tradition
that helped to overthrow the Qing dynasty, and during the 1919 May 4th
Movement, rallied opposition to the Versailles Treaty that gave Japan control
of former German concessions in Shandong. The Chinese people were proud
that their students stood up to an American president.
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