The Chinese sought the advice of their Consuls in the U.S. and sent additional diplomats to investigate the matter and report back with possible actions. Ouyang Ming, the Chinese Consul-General of San Francisco concluded that the Chinese were not well liked by either the American public or the government. He proposed that the best way to prevent future harm to Chinese citizens was to bar all Chinese emigration to the states, feeling as though only trouble would result if things were left unchanged. Others, such as influential Governor-General Zhang Zhidang, disagreed. He proposed that the Chinese immigration policy remain fluid because of Chinese interests in the United States, and it did.