[papersmith]

My impression is that the "nationalists" (as in blind patriotism, the word has a different meaning in Chinese) are a vocal minority among the priviledged urban youths who grew up during the economic boom. The older generations who lived through Mao's days, the less priviedged middle-class kids, and the rural population tend to have very mixed opinions.

Also, Chinese opinions tend to be very mixed to begin with, which can give off the wrong impression to someone from a society that is used to partisanism.

This artwork portrays "opinions" among German and Chinese very well:

http://www.imgx.org/pfiles/2783/1.jpg

[Perceval]

Here's a good article on young nationalists in China: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/28/080728fa_fact_...

It's not clear that nationalism in China equates with blind support for the Party.