My Take | Who wants Donald Trump to win? Surprisingly, many Chinese
- For many complicated and even contradictory reasons, Chinese of all stripes around the world have come to see a second Trump term as furthering their own advantage
Say what you like about Donald Trump, it appears many ethnic Chinese want to see a second term for the US president. Among these are mainland Chinese who prefer him for four more years whether they support or oppose his anti-China policies; Hong Kong Chinese who love the measures the White House has taken against their own city and the local government, including sanctions against top officials; and Taiwanese who desire closer ties between the island and the United States.
It’s truly a strange and complicated Chinese world we live in; try wrapping your head around all that. Just about the only group of ethnic Chinese who decisively turn against Trump are Chinese-Americans. And of course, they count the most since they get to cast their votes next week.
An Asian-American voter survey reported by NBC News last month found 54 per cent of Asian Americans would vote for Democrat Joe Biden, while only 30 per cent would pick Trump. Among the main reasons cited by Chinese-Americans for supporting Biden was rising racism and xenophobia in the US provoked by Trump’s anti-China policies and rhetoric, especially over Covid-19.
Everywhere else, Biden supporters far outnumber those for Trump. Respondents in Malaysia favour Biden over Trump by 62 per cent to 9 per cent, in Singapore by 66 per cent to 12 per cent, in Australia by 60 per cent to 21 per cent, Indonesia 63 per cent to 12 per cent, the Philippines 47 per cent to 24 per cent and Thailand 59 per cent to 14 per cent.
The case of Taiwan’s support for Trump is perhaps easiest to understand. His administration is arguably the most hostile to mainland China and friendliest to the island in half a century. Trump’s officials almost never mention “one China”, though that supposedly remains Washington’s official policy, while some speak openly as if the island is already a country. Meanwhile, weapon sales keep coming the island’s way, angering Beijing.