Rarely has the world been as excited about a new president of the United States as it is about Barack Obama. Hong Kong is no exception. Not only will the inauguration of commander-in-chief No44 be televised live tonight (at 12.30am), but many American groups are throwing parties around town. Other folks are having a bit of fun. For example, Madame Tussauds is unveiling an Obama wax figure this afternoon at The Peak. However, we discovered that some of the most excited people are American-born local stars who are definitely down with the Democrat president-elect. As a father of three, New York-raised actor Michael Wong Man-tak was most struck by the Illinois senator's two daughters during Mr Obama's acceptance speech on the night of November 4. 'When I saw Barack coming out onto the stage with his wife and children, I thought it was one of the most beautiful things,' Mr Wong said. 'And especially having these two black American children living in the White House. You know how people talk about America being a free nation, a free society and so on. When I saw the reaction on the people's faces, they looked so emotional, thinking, 'oh, he is the first black president'. My reaction was, why did it take so long? Why after all these years, there is only one black president? If we call ourselves a free nation, why did it still take forever to change?' Mr Wong, an Obama supporter, hopes the new president will reverse some of the Republican policies of Mr Bush. 'There is still a lot of control in information and politics, so hopefully people will be allowed to practise democracy better. Look at the economic situation in the country right now ... I want to see true democracy in [the US] without [politicians] being swayed by outside forces.' Few American expats were more proactive and vocal in their support for Mr Obama than actor Daniel Wu Yin-cho. The star organised fund-raisers, rallied support and generally wore his politics on his fashionable sleeves during the campaign. No surprise, then, tonight he'll be whooping it up. 'Since all the guys that run the Alive Not Dead website are from the States, we'll be celebrating at our CEO Patrick Lee's house,' said Wu, who voted by absentee ballot. 'It's going to be a really symbolic moment as the delusions and lies of the past eight years will officially be over and we can put the nails in the coffin of cowboy diplomacy. Bush was like some drunken teenager running down the aisles of a grocery store knocking everything off the shelves and then running out without paying. So for Obama, some of his campaign goals might have to come second to the immediate task of cleaning up the mess. I think he is a brilliant, charismatic leader for change, but ... it's important not to put the entire weight of the country on his singular shoulders. What is most important, however, is that Obama steers us in the right direction.' The San Francisco native gets even more specific on how the new president should prioritise his agenda. 'Personally, I hope in this term he will be able to develop new and renewable energy, not only as a resource but as a job generator as well. In terms of foreign policy, I think it is vital that he finds a way to re-establish the US as a moderator in solving global issues instead of being a thug-like intimidator.' Rapper MC Jin Au-yeung is obviously into African-American music, but he was equally fanatical about the African-American candidate. He even flew home last November just to cast his vote in person. 'Basically, I just voted, stayed for the night, then left next morning,' the American-born rapper said at a press conference to announce that 24,000 free hip hop mix tapes he produced would be given away courtesy of sponsor Hennessy V.S.O.P. 'There was a lot of excitement and anxiety [at the polling station] because we had a good feeling that he was going to win. For me personally, it will be more than just celebrating inauguration day because it's been non-stop celebration from the moment it was announced he won. For sure, I will watch it live here in Hong Kong.' In fact, Jin is looking ahead to a second term already. 'It depends on the next four years, but I definitely see him getting another term. Maybe it's a bit premature because he hasn't even been inaugurated yet, so what am I talking about?' Jin suggested he will personally be giving away most of the free mix tapes in places like Mong Kok and Causeway Bay over the Lunar New Year. For more details, visit www.jininhk.com .