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On Balance | Donald Trump has no deep convictions about Hong Kong or democracy, he just wants to win an election
- The US president has changed his mind about the Hong Kong protests because taking Xi Jinping’s side would hurt his re-election chances
- His flip-flop on Hong Kong is also indicative of his failing trade war with China
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
It’s both funny and tragic to see Donald Trump’s messaging about the unrest in Hong Kong shift so quickly.
Funny because his duplicity is about as subtle as the script of a low-budget sitcom, and tragic – mostly for himself – because it reveals that even he is becoming aware that his China strategy might be flawed.
The massive pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong almost certainly disturb United States President Trump, whose apparent affinity for authoritarian strongmen is his most visible longing. But the situation in Hong Kong has developed to the point where he knows continued support for Beijing in this stand-off would undermine his re-election hopes.
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As a global chorus of condemnation rises around China’s new “one country, one system” approach to Hong Kong (farewell, Cathay Pacific CEO Rupert Hogg), Trump is changing his tune as quickly as a Sichuan opera performer changes his masks.
In the space of a few weeks, Trump has gone from calling the demonstrations in Hong Kong “riots” to suggesting Xi Jinping should sit down and talk to the protesters to “humanely” solve the Hong Kong problem. Where is Carrie Lam Yuet-ngor in Trump’s magical solution that he thinks will sort everything out “in 15 minutes”?
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