‘The Washington Spring’ or just a blip? How Asia saw the chaos of Trump supporters storming US Capitol

Incredulity, sadness and – in some quarters – just a hint of mocking contempt. These were the emotions as Asian commentators, media figures and politicians reacted to the news that supporters of President Donald Trump had stormed the US Capitol building in a bid to block the confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden’s election win.

Given the deterioration in US-China ties during the Trump presidency, it was perhaps inevitable that after hundreds of his supporters rampaged through the halls of Congress on Wednesday in chaotic scenes that left four people dead, some of the most scathing words would come from China.

Among them was a potshot from the Communist Youth League, which called the protests a “beautiful sight to behold” in a reference to how the House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi had described anti-government demonstrations in Hong Kong in 2019. Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the state run tabloid Global Times, took a similar swipe, saying that had such events been seen in a developing country American outlets might have labelled them the “Washington Spring”, in a reference to the Arab Spring demonstrations that swept the Middle East in 2010.

For some, there was a feeling of the boot being on the other foot, given that the United States has ruffled feathers for backing recent anti-government movements not only in Hong Kong but Thailand too – neither of which have resulted in as high a death toll as Wednesday’s carnage at the Capitol.

Pro-Beijing Hong Kong lawmaker Regina Ip suggested, ironically, that perhaps those who had instigated the violence in the US should be charged with sedition – one of the offences covered by the national security law that Beijing has implemented in Hong Kong and that has been strongly criticised by the American government.