My wife, a U.S. citizen, but born and raised most of her life in PRC, has always used the term "orinental" (sic) to describe herself and other asian peoples.

I once mentioned to her that a lot of people think that 'asian' is what should be used and 'oriental' is considered rude - and by some people racist. Her immediate response was "Who say dat? Dat stupid!"

There are a LOT of asian people who consider using the term 'oriental' perfectly natural - and I've known at least one person (korean male) who DEMANDED to be called an oriental and NOT an asian.