Mixed emotions from local Chinese over Hu's visit

Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the area Tuesday has the Seattle area's Chinese-American community excited. And angry. And ambivalent.

If there's anything Hu's stop does show about the Chinese community here, it's that the group has a wide range of opinions and is as diverse as the variants of tea in China.

Gregory Tsang was so thrilled by the visit that he flew back to his Mukilteo home from Beijing, where he stays part of the year, just to see Hu.

Tsang was instrumental in organizing the 1979 visit to Seattle by then-Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, and is one of the few members of Seattle's Chinese community to be invited to a special gathering with Hu on Tuesday.

"When Deng came, people were very reluctant at that time; there were only about 20-plus people that went to see him," Tsang said just before he left Beijing.

Today, organizers in the Chinese community who welcome the visit hope to amass about 1,000 people to welcome Hu when he touches down at Paine Field in Everett and at the downtown Seattle hotel where Hu and his delegation are staying.

Foes of the visit, including those who support the independence of Taiwan, the religious movement Falun Gong and Tibetan rights, are working to organize protesters to gather at Hu's hotel and possibly Bill Gates' Medina mansion, where Hu will dine Tuesday evening.

"Taiwan is being bullied around by China," said John Chou of Shoreline, a retired engineer who runs a weekly bilingual newspaper and a member of the Taiwanese Association of Greater Seattle. "We want to show China that we don't like this situation where China keeps saying Taiwan is not a nation."

Still others in Seattle's Chinese community aren't even familiar with Hu's name. University of Washington senior Eric Bai said he didn't know who Hu was, but he had heard something about the Chinese president coming.

"I don't feel like I'm very caught up with current affairs because school's busy," said Bai of Bellevue, whose parents were born in Taiwan and grandparents were born in China. "Obviously, China is a booming economy and there's a lot of stuff going on, but I don't have time."

Diverse community

Unlike the Vietnamese community here, where the majority are staunchly against the Vietnamese government, the Chinese community holds divided views about China and its leadership.

The community is diverse — it is made up of immigrants from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

The issue of Taiwan divides the community, as the question of Taiwanese independence from China divides the island's citizens.

For Clara Liu Chen of Normandy Park, whose family goes back five generations in Taiwan, Hu's visit only reminds her of what she sees is Chinese domination of the island's indigenous Taiwanese population.

Chen, 69, will protest with other pro-Taiwanese independence supporters Tuesday. Chen, who considers herself Taiwanese and not Chinese, said she is disappointed that political leaders such as former Gov. Gary Locke support China.

"Treat us like a normal nation, let us have diplomatic relationships with other countries," Chen said.

There are also many Taiwanese who support maintaining the status quo, said C.C. Tien, a retired Boeing engineer who publishes the quarterly magazine Chinese American Forum.

Tien was born in China and moved to Taiwan after the Communists took over the mainland. He opposes Taiwanese independence.

"I think the American policy of 'One China, Taiwan is a part of China, and Taiwan and China should get together peacefully' is sound and has been the policy for the last quarter-century," Tien said. "Independence only stirs trouble for Taiwan and the United States."

Issue of Tibet

Supporters of Tibetan independence are also divided by the visit.

The Dalai Lama, the spiritual and political leader of Tibetan Buddhism, last week asked his supporters not to protest while Hu is here, to avoid jeopardizing Sino-Tibetan dialogue.

But some local Tibetan groups will still speak out.

"We have tremendous respect for the Dalai Lama, but the younger generation is very frustrated with this kind of slow process in dialogue," said Tenzin Wangyal, the president of the Seattle Tibetan Youth Congress. "His Holiness believes in democratic freedom and everyone has the right to make their own decisions."

Wangyal said that about 100 people from Tibetan groups in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia will protest during Hu's visit.

University of Washington English professor Shawn Wong, whose parents came to the United States in the 1940s from China, said Chinese Americans' view of the world's most populous nation is being reshaped by the current economic boom.

Wong has visited China twice, and plans to return there next month for a conference at the Foreign Studies University in Beijing on Asian-American literature. His novel, "Homebase," has been translated into Chinese.

"The China of my parents is not the China that exists now," Wong said. "It's growing so fast and has such an impact on the world — whether we're Chinese American or not, we need to be engaged and look to the opportunities between China and the U.S."

Chinese immigrants

Chinese immigration to the Seattle area continues to grow, said Conni So, American ethnic-studies senior lecturer at the UW.

While Eastside communities have seen a surge in Chinese immigrants who work at Microsoft and other companies, there are also a growing number in Seattle neighborhoods like Beacon Hill and areas to the south, such as Federal Way and Auburn. The Census Bureau figures for 2004 estimated that 55,300 residents of Chinese descent resided in King County.

Everyone in China has heard of Seattle, said Albert Wang, a software engineer at Microsoft and the president of the Chinese Microsoft Employees, or CHIME. He added that Locke's fame for being the first U.S. governor of Chinese heritage made people in China proud and focused interest on Washington state. Hu's visit to Microsoft only shows the influence that the company's technology has on China, he said.

But the number of Chinese professionals who want to move to the U.S. has declined as China's own economy has grown, said software engineer Weiling Yang, who has lived here for 10 years.

"Ten years ago it was a very hot topic to come to the United States. But what I'm feeling now is people are not so eager to go to other countries," said Yang, who works at Amazon.com. "They have a much better life than 10 years ago."

The Sammamish resident plans to attend the private meeting with Hu, as do several other parents at the Northwest Chinese School.

"I think it's a very rare opportunity for everyone to see a president of your country," said Yang. "Although I am a citizen of the U.S., I still think I am Chinese and feel very proud of it."

Lisa Chiu: 206-464-3347 or lchiu@seattletimes.com