"The life of a Chinese pilot is as precious as an American's," said Ruan Guoqin, spouse of the 33-year flier. "I feel extremely angry at the US govern-ment. They couldn't care less about my husband, while they showed so much concern about their own soldiers.

"My son and I are waiting anxiously for information about my husband," she said.

Wang, a native of Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, is chief of an air force squadron of the People's Liberation Army. He's been missing since Sunday morning when his plane was rammed on the right side by the American aircraft above the South China Sea, about 100 kilometers south of Hainan Island.

According to government reports, Wang parachuted from his disabled fighter jet after the mishap.

Dozens of Chinese ships and planes are involved in the search operation.

"I am very grateful to the efforts by all those trying to save him," said Ruan.

People across China also condemned "the intrusion of the US surveillance plane" and voiced their anger over the American government's handling of the incident, according to Xinhua news agency.

Zhou Hanmin, a Shanghai legal expert, said the collision is a "serious political issue" and the United State bears responsibility under international law.

Wu Hongyong, deputy Party secretary of Beijing's Dongcheng District, said the US surveillance aircraft "obviously broke into China's territorial air space" and caused the crash of one of the military planes that scrambled to track it.

Though there were no street demonstrations on the Chinese mainland, an avalanche of angry bulletin board messages filled domestic Websites yesterday.

(Eastday 04/05/2001)