Chen's ad on New York Times [people.com.cn]

Chen said the ad had initially said Pearl Harbor but the newspaper insisted he replace it with Hawaii.

Chen spent 10 days handing out questionnaires on the islands on US buses and metros and on the streets.

The results, he said, showed that more than 95 percent of Americans did not know the facts about the islands.

That confirmed his decision to advertise in the US media.

"I think many politicians and world leaders read the New York Times, so I chose the newspaper to publish the ad," he said. It is reported that the ad cost Chen US$30,000.

"As an entrepreneur and philanthropist, I just want to do what I can to tell the facts to more people around the world that the Diaoyu Islands are Chinese territory," Chen said.