Many residents who live at the border of China and North Korea are expressing concern over the rising conflict in the Korean peninsula. A strong sense of patriotism is growing in other parts of the mainland, especially in Liaoning.
A video blogger from Liaoning went viral and gained 360,000 followers when he smashed his girlfriend's collection of Korean makeup.
He posted the video on his Weibo account and stated, "The important thing is not that we destroyed this makeup. The important thing is our attitude. We follow laws and policies and do not go around smashing any cars . . . destroying what we once bought in Lotte can vent our anger!"
The comment received 2,000 likes.
Another Weibo user wrote, "I'm a Northeasterner, of course, I understand if something goes wrong with North Korean nuclear tests, we'll be affected. How can I not worry?"
He added, "However, we have to think about what problem to solve first. North Korea didn't really want to have nuclear tests but was under US and South Korean pressure."
"One of the reasons we oppose THAAD is we hope to not put too much pressure on NK and slow down the nuclear issue," he noted.
Aside from safety, the residents feel that the tension is escalating because of the U.S. propelling the issue on THAAD and North Korea. The residents think that many refugees will flee North Korea and flood the border when the tensions rise.
A tour guide from a Hunchun-based travel agency named Qu said that a strike from the U.S. will cause bigger problems for the people.
"If anything happens, refugees will flood our cities along the border," he said.
A professor of international relations from Peking University, Jia Qingguo, said that the nationalist sentiment among Chinese is a double-edged sword that may cause political instability in the country.