Tong says many Chinese nationals here are still affected by "Chinese propaganda."

"Truthfully, most people who come here read science and technology books, not The New York Times," he says. "They don't try to comprehend new views on democracy."

Yang also says that many Chinese are afraid to speak out.

"One thing you have to keep in mind is that most people are afraid of protesting the Chinese government," he says.

"It is very much self-censored," Yang says. "They fear 'I might not be able to go back to China, my family members might be harassed, I might lose the opportunity to do business in China.' Uncertainty is a very big threat."

Pan Qiang, another active leader in the demonstration, agrees. "You will see on Saturday that there will be more foreigners than Chinese at the protest [because they're afraid]," he says.

Pan also participated in the Tianan-men Square protests and was subsequently imprisoned for several months after the crackdown.

But other Chinese nationals say the idea that Chinese nationals who do not speak out against of the government out of fear of punishment is incorrect.

"I'm not afraid of the Chinese government," says Ying Liu '00, who comes from China.

Instead, she says there is more pressure in the Chinese community to denounce Jiang's visit.

Many more people here are actually in favor of Jiang's visit, she says, but are "afraid of going against public opinion and appearing to be a conservative or a communist."

Susan Y. Tang '01 says she fears the protests will present a simplified and biased view of the situation in China.

"The things I want to say are not things you can write down on a poster," she says.

Liu says people should listen to what Jiang has to say before forming their opinions.

"He's the representative of China and he should have that respect," Liu says