William Lin hopes Donald Trump will win the US election next week because he believes it is “a matter of life or death” for his native Taiwan.
Important points:
- Some people in Hong Kong and Taiwan support the Trump administration’s China policy
- However, experts warn that Congress, not Mr Trump, is putting pressure on China
- Experts say Joe Biden is not expected to make a major change in US foreign policy towards China
The president of the Taiwanese Association of Victoria told ABC that the US elections had him thinking between his “ideals” and his “reality”.
Like many others in the Australian diaspora in Hong Kong and Taiwan, Mr. Lin believes that Trump’s second term would protect her people’s freedom.
They have adjusted to the Trump administration’s China policies, particularly those targeting Beijing for its conduct in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Both are claimed by China, but only Hong Kong is officially under Beijing’s control.
Hong Kong has been a semi-autonomous part of China since it was surrendered in 1997, but many believe the territory is increasingly losing its autonomy.
And while China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province, Taipei sees itself as independent.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said he would not rule out the use of force to capture Taiwan, and Beijing has increased saber rattling near the island.
Nearly 40 Chinese fighter jets crossed the center line of the cross-strait last month and entered Taiwan’s southwest air defense zone.
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While Washington lacks diplomatic relations with Taipei, the Trump-Trump United States has shown increasing support for Taiwan, leading to a resignation by China.
This week Beijing announced plans to impose sanctions on Lockheed Martin, Boeing Defense, Raytheon and other US companies involved in Washington’s proposed arms sales to Taiwan.
The U.S. State Department last week approved a potential $ 1.8 billion ($ 2.5 billion) arms sale to Taiwan, including sensors, missiles and artillery.
Mr. Lin said this security environment led him to support Mr. Trump, who responded to Taiwan’s need for defense.
Some want Trump to win but don’t share his values
Michael Wong, a 28-year-old from Hong Kong who now lives in Australia, also supports Trump’s second term on geopolitical grounds, however, said he was not naive about Mr Trump’s real intentions.
“Ultimately, I don’t think his goal is just to fight for the freedom of the people of Hong Kong,” he said.
But for Mr Wong, Mr Trump is also one of the few global figures powerful enough to stand up for their freedoms and keep China in check.
Earlier this year, Beijing imposed its national security law on Hong Kong after nearly a year of protest against China’s growing encroachment on Hong Kong’s sovereignty.
Critics say Hong Kong’s law dissolves constitutionally protected freedoms, while others believe the city is no longer a safe haven for Chinese dissidents on the mainland.
In July 2019, Mr. Trump signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, passed with the support of both parties, punishing Chinese officials and entities believed to violate the city’s autonomy.
Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden has also signaled that he will take a tougher line against Beijing compared to previous governments, including his own.
“The most effective way to meet this challenge is to build a united front of US allies and partners to counter China’s abusive behavior and human rights abuses, even if we try to work with Beijing.”
On his official campaign website, Mr. Biden also pledged to oppose China’s “growing strength of autocratic powers and their efforts to divide and manipulate democracies.”
But despite Mr. Biden’s promises, Mr. Wong is not convinced.
He still wants Mr Trump to win, despite not sharing many of the President’s values.
“It’s very contradicting,” said Mr. Wong.
While he disagrees with Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the demands of the Black Lives Matter movement, Wong said that the fate of the U.S. elections could ultimately determine the fate of his hometown.
“I understand that it is difficult to maintain the value we have. So we try to find someone who can actually do something for us – it’s actually pretty sad, ”he said.
Trump’s supporters in Hong Kong and Taiwan
Taiwan’s residents rate Mr. Trump highly, according to a recent survey by global opinion and data company YouGov.
It turned out that Taiwan was the only place in the Asia-Pacific region where Mr Trump is a preferred candidate.
Mr Trump’s next strongest support base was in Hong Kong, where he is preferred by 36 percent of the population, compared to 42 percent who supported Mr Biden.
“President Trump is clearly seen by the Taiwanese people as a candidate who is more likely to improve US-Taiwan relations,” the report said.
“Hong Kongers are also more likely to see it as the superior choice for the American economy.”
However, the poll also found that nearly half of those who preferred Mr Trump in Taiwan and Hong Kong to Mr Biden did not feel good about the way the president was doing his job.
An Australian national who wants to be known as Conor (not his real name) just for fear of prosecution said that many Hong Kongers like him expected Mr Trump to continue his tough China policies over the next term, which he and he did gave their peers hope for changes in the city.
But he said this put her in a similar situation to Mr. Wong.
“As you may know, Hong Kong is a very hygiene-conscious place after the SARS epidemic in 2003. And we don’t necessarily agree with many [COVID-19] Treatment of its administration.
“I think about China policy … Mr. Trump would be a better leader just because he was willing to be more open about human rights abuses [in Hong Kong]. „
Trump is not a catalyst, Congress is
Hong Kong has been a major point of contention between Washington and Beijing, and US politicians of all faiths have come out in favor of Hong Kong.
The passage of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act by Congress led Beijing to harshly condemn Washington for its “gross interference” in China’s internal affairs.
Beijing said Washington has “violated international law and the norms” that underpin China-US relations.
Alfred Wu, associate professor of international relations at the National University of Singapore, said many pro-democracy advocates “misunderstood” that Mr. Trump was behind support for Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Instead, he said the real power was parliamentary.
“I don’t think the position of the US Congress will change much,” said Dr. Wu to ABC.
Dr. Wu said he believed many Hong Kong and Taiwanese people wanted Mr Trump to win because they thought his China policies were more predictable and that he would likely continue his anti-Beijing policies in his second term.
This is undoubtedly true of Mr. Wong, who is concerned that his family and friends in his hometown Hong Kong are gradually losing their freedom to speak openly about politics.
He acknowledged, however, that the people of Hong Kong and Taiwan would have to rely on their own efforts, not geopolitics, to protect their own freedoms.
“You can’t really rely on other countries to do that,” he said.
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