In interviews on the street and in comments posted online, Chinese urged their government to resist what they see as U.S. bullying. The EP-3 surveillance plane is being held at an island air base in the South China Sea as U.S. diplomats try to gain its release.

The US says the plane was on a routine mission

Few Chinese seemed to doubt the official explanation blaming the American plane. Some said the government should use the aircraft and its crew to extract U.S. concessions. Others said the plane should be dissected to learn its high-tech secrets.

''America is too despotic,'' said one young man with shoulder-length hair wearing fashionable khakis and a bright windbreaker. ''China needs to take a hard line on this.''

''We can't not take action. If they want to fight a war, we'll give them a war,'' said another young man walking to work in a Western-style business suit.

Both men declined to give their names.

Most young Chinese are nationalistic and, despite a fondness for American pop culture, see the United States as an obstacle on China's path to superpower status.

Official media cheered Chinese basketball star Wang Zhizhi's departure last week to play in the United States. But other reports denounced possible U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, the island democracy that China considers its territory.

Although the government seemed to be weighing its options Monday, some said the strong public reaction could push it to take a harder line.

Many recalled the NATO bombing of China's embassy in Yugoslavia two years ago. That sparked mass anti-U.S. protests in cities across China. Most Chinese refused to accept Washington's explanation that the bombing was unintended.

In Hong Kong, demonstrators organized by a pro-Beijing labor group gathered outside the U.S. consulate in a loud but peaceful protest blaming the United States for the collision.

About 100 people shouted that the United States had ''invaded our country's air space and knocked down our fighter jet,'' and they accused the Americans of being too cowardly to face up to it.

Web surfers left messages on the People's Daily's ''Strong Country'' chat site urging the government to keep the plane as a bargaining chip. One writer, using the pseudonym ''Love or Not Love,'' said the plane's crew should be put in a prisoner-of-war camp.

''If the Chinese government shows weakness again in handling the collision, it will arouse strong dissatisfaction among Chinese people,'' said one posting, signed ''Trouble Maker.''

Others called for caution.

One warned against protests like 1999, saying those ultimately hurt China. A more ''mature response'' would protect China's interests and win greater benefits, said the writer, who used the pen name ''Pigtail.''

Public anger may have been even more extreme because state media haven't reported U.S. offers to help search for the Chinese pilot who Beijing says crashed in the sea.

One posting signed ''zrf197962'' on the popular sina.com chat-room expressed admiration for the missing pilot, saying he stood up to American ''hegemony.''

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