Tom Paine 1949
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On the Chinese Internet popular discussion of the American election was rather open, with 12 billion hits on Weibo’s main hashtag, #“American election” ( #美国大选 měiguó dàxuǎn) # as of 3 weeks ago. Chinese internet users have a reasonably clear view of what was at stake in the American election. Here is a summary from SupChina (11/9), an important China-specializing non-profit English news source critical of the CCP:
Chinese social media users react to Biden’s presidential win
While most comments were celebratory, some people soberly reminded others that a peaceful transition of power was unlikely to happen, especially given Trump’s “desperate” attempts to paint the voting process as fraudulent. “The win was easy. Now, the real challenge: How to kick Trump out of the White House?” a Weibo user said, while another wrote, “Trump should learn how to accept defeat like a real grown-up. This only gets more embarrassing for him the longer he throws a temper tantrum.”
Not everyone was delighted at Trump’s defeat, though. On Weibo, a number of commenters confessed that while they hated Trump’s anti-Chinese rhetoric and erratic behavior, his presidency was entertaining to witness, and that they would miss all the memes and jokes inspired by him. “Trump running America is the only reality show that I’ve followed closely. It pains me to say goodbye to it,” wrote an Internet user. “Trump lost his presidency. We lost a great comedian,” another one said.
Under his four-year tenure in the White House, Trump has blown hot and cold on China, calling Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 a “great leader” and hyping a trade deal at some times, and at other times casting Beijing as America’s main adversary, responsible for the disappearance of manufacturing jobs and then a “Chinese plague.” In the wake of Biden’s win, a number of Chinese people hoped that the President-elect would bring U.S.-China relations onto a more stable track — and ideally, heighten prospects for cooperation.
The optimism, however, wasn’t felt by everyone. Some skeptics raised the question as to whether a Biden White House would see China more as a partner than a threat. “It really doesn’t matter who’s the next U.S. president. China and the U.S. are destined to be strategic rivals,” a Weibo user wrote. “The only thing under our control ultimately is our determination to make China stronger.”
Here is another SupChina feature, this one on Chinese-Americans who played a role in helping Biden win Georgia. I note that Chinese and Asian-American voters typically have been very hesitant to involve themselves in heated American politics. Ironically, many conservative anti-communist Chinese-Americans use the WeChat app to discuss U.S. politics, which Trump of course has threatened to destroy:
How Chinese-American activism helped Georgia turn blue
Turnout among Asian Americans in Georgia was way up in the 2020 presidential election, meaning the Democratic-leaning demographic contributed to Biden’s win in the state. Chinese-American activists are now mobilizing again ahead of the January Senate runoffs.
In 2016, BiLan Liao moved from Kentucky to Gwinnett County, just northeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Having voted for Hillary Clinton that year, the 62-year-old Chinese immigrant, who came to the U.S. in 1999, was deeply worried about the “authoritarian style” of leadership that Trump has presented, which reminded her of the repressive ruling party in China. As the 2020 election rolled around, Liao ... thought it necessary to engage in politics to protect her freedom and vision for democracy.
62% of Asian-American Georgian voters surveyed chose Biden, and 36% chose Trump. And an analysis by the Democratic firm TargetSmart indicated that Asian-American voter turnout in the state nearly doubled compared with that of the 2016 election, even as a New York Times analysis showed that the black share of the electorate declined ....
During Trump’s presidency, Liao started a habit of trying to counter right-wing narratives on WeChat, the Chinese social media app that has over 3 million active users in the U.S., most of whom are Chinese Americans. She was so vocal ... that she was kicked out of all the conservative Chinese WeChat groups of which she had been a part. Liao ... coordinated with a few other liberal contacts on WeChat to organize volunteer meetings....
Yu Xiao, a Chinese immigrant who has lived in Atlanta since 1997, has been active in Georgia’s political scene since 2013. He explained that many liberal-leaning Chinese-American voters were reluctant to campaign publicly for Biden due to the overwhelmingly conservative political environment in Georgia....
As a longtime registered Republican, Xiao didn’t vote for Trump in either the 2016 or the 2020 election. “I know the greatness of the American democratic system,” Xiao said. “But I’ve also come to know that it’s fragile, that it can’t be guaranteed to choose the best president. It’s up to us to defend and maintain it....
Now, having witnessed the considerable change they have made in the presidential election, progressive Chinese Georgians have readied themselves for another round of campaigning, to elect Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock into the U.S. Senate.
How Chinese-American activism helped Georgia turn blue - SupChina
Chinese social media users react to Biden’s presidential win
While most comments were celebratory, some people soberly reminded others that a peaceful transition of power was unlikely to happen, especially given Trump’s “desperate” attempts to paint the voting process as fraudulent. “The win was easy. Now, the real challenge: How to kick Trump out of the White House?” a Weibo user said, while another wrote, “Trump should learn how to accept defeat like a real grown-up. This only gets more embarrassing for him the longer he throws a temper tantrum.”
Not everyone was delighted at Trump’s defeat, though. On Weibo, a number of commenters confessed that while they hated Trump’s anti-Chinese rhetoric and erratic behavior, his presidency was entertaining to witness, and that they would miss all the memes and jokes inspired by him. “Trump running America is the only reality show that I’ve followed closely. It pains me to say goodbye to it,” wrote an Internet user. “Trump lost his presidency. We lost a great comedian,” another one said.
Under his four-year tenure in the White House, Trump has blown hot and cold on China, calling Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 a “great leader” and hyping a trade deal at some times, and at other times casting Beijing as America’s main adversary, responsible for the disappearance of manufacturing jobs and then a “Chinese plague.” In the wake of Biden’s win, a number of Chinese people hoped that the President-elect would bring U.S.-China relations onto a more stable track — and ideally, heighten prospects for cooperation.
The optimism, however, wasn’t felt by everyone. Some skeptics raised the question as to whether a Biden White House would see China more as a partner than a threat. “It really doesn’t matter who’s the next U.S. president. China and the U.S. are destined to be strategic rivals,” a Weibo user wrote. “The only thing under our control ultimately is our determination to make China stronger.”
Here is another SupChina feature, this one on Chinese-Americans who played a role in helping Biden win Georgia. I note that Chinese and Asian-American voters typically have been very hesitant to involve themselves in heated American politics. Ironically, many conservative anti-communist Chinese-Americans use the WeChat app to discuss U.S. politics, which Trump of course has threatened to destroy:
How Chinese-American activism helped Georgia turn blue
Turnout among Asian Americans in Georgia was way up in the 2020 presidential election, meaning the Democratic-leaning demographic contributed to Biden’s win in the state. Chinese-American activists are now mobilizing again ahead of the January Senate runoffs.
In 2016, BiLan Liao moved from Kentucky to Gwinnett County, just northeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Having voted for Hillary Clinton that year, the 62-year-old Chinese immigrant, who came to the U.S. in 1999, was deeply worried about the “authoritarian style” of leadership that Trump has presented, which reminded her of the repressive ruling party in China. As the 2020 election rolled around, Liao ... thought it necessary to engage in politics to protect her freedom and vision for democracy.
62% of Asian-American Georgian voters surveyed chose Biden, and 36% chose Trump. And an analysis by the Democratic firm TargetSmart indicated that Asian-American voter turnout in the state nearly doubled compared with that of the 2016 election, even as a New York Times analysis showed that the black share of the electorate declined ....
During Trump’s presidency, Liao started a habit of trying to counter right-wing narratives on WeChat, the Chinese social media app that has over 3 million active users in the U.S., most of whom are Chinese Americans. She was so vocal ... that she was kicked out of all the conservative Chinese WeChat groups of which she had been a part. Liao ... coordinated with a few other liberal contacts on WeChat to organize volunteer meetings....
Yu Xiao, a Chinese immigrant who has lived in Atlanta since 1997, has been active in Georgia’s political scene since 2013. He explained that many liberal-leaning Chinese-American voters were reluctant to campaign publicly for Biden due to the overwhelmingly conservative political environment in Georgia....
As a longtime registered Republican, Xiao didn’t vote for Trump in either the 2016 or the 2020 election. “I know the greatness of the American democratic system,” Xiao said. “But I’ve also come to know that it’s fragile, that it can’t be guaranteed to choose the best president. It’s up to us to defend and maintain it....
Now, having witnessed the considerable change they have made in the presidential election, progressive Chinese Georgians have readied themselves for another round of campaigning, to elect Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock into the U.S. Senate.
How Chinese-American activism helped Georgia turn blue - SupChina
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