Donald Trump’s refusal to concede the US presidential election has won some faraway support in Hong Kong and Taiwan, where a small but noisy number of people are holding hope out for his eventual victory.
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The US president’s attempt to cling to power has sharpened internal divisions in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement over its ties to the US Republican party, and prompted a wave of vitriol against journalists reporting or commenting on the US vote.
The Hong Kong Free Press, a stridently pro-democracy title, has seen a huge backlash over its election coverage. An op-ed this week headlined “President Biden will stand with Hong Kong – more effectively than Trump ever did”, was met with hundreds of negative comments – including baseless accusations that Joe Biden was “in the CCP’s pocket” and assertions that the election result was yet to be decided.
“Some comments are innocent enough (ie the election is not over – which is technically true though also misleading),” Sasha Ramani, one of the op-ed’s co-authors told the Guardian.
“But I’m genuinely surprised at the level of right-wing disinformation that has influenced Hong Kong circles. The number of friends who have linked me to Breitbart articles or other easily-debunked misinformation is depressing.”
A YouGov poll of Asian countries last month found Trump to be the most popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan, where Chinese authorities have respectively launched a crackdown on dissent and ramped up military threats to invade.
Trump and his administration have responded with a term of anti-China rhetoric and action, slapping sanctions on Beijing and Hong Kong authorities, and selling billions of dollars worth of weapons to Taiwan.
While Biden has pledged to take a tougher line on China, some pro-democracy activists fear that he will return the US to an era of engagement with Beijing.
Journalist Johan Nylander has lived in Hong Kong for a decade, and said he has seen a lot of anger and aggression since the US election, including claims that Biden stole the election.
“I spoke to a woman at a pro-democracy [shop], she is hardcore pro-democracy and anti-Beijing – and she is hardcore Donald Trump. And she says Fox News is the only reliable media in the US,” he said.
One local reporter who did not want to be identified due to concerns over online abuse, said colleagues and outlets had been accused of “being pro-Biden, or favouring Biden in their coverage”.
“One example is Apple Daily – its owner Jimmy Lai was very clear that he supported Trump, he predicted Trump would win … and their own coverage was generally pro-Trump. But the [Apple Daily] journalists did what every journalist does and factchecked stories. And they were accused of ‘showing their true colours’, siding with Biden. There’s this kind of conspiracy that keeps going on.”
Observers including Ramani said people in Hong Kong and Taiwan had become “collateral damage” of disinformation campaigns aimed at US voters but which had spread internationally through mainstream, far-right and social media.
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A lack of understanding of the US electoral system also helped drive accusations of voter fraud. The Hong Kong journalist said US state variations in counting mailed votes had been confusing, and some people had made connections between the US’s complicated voting system and the anti-democratic tactics seen in some Asian elections.
“They sort of connect the two and use the same standards to judge the US. They don’t trust their system, and there is a lack of understanding of the US system.”
Ramani said many people “viewed the election as existentially important to their survival, so they have a greater emotional attachment to it”, he said.
In October Biden pledged the US would join Pacific allies to “advance our shared prosperity, security, and values in the Asia-Pacific region” and to deepen ties with Taiwan.
He has called Chinese president Xi Jinping a thug, and condemned China’s actions in Xinjiang. Analysts have repeatedly said China is a defining global challenge now, and Washington’s approach – supported by a global network of allies – is unlikely to change.
In his op-ed, Ramani said the Trump administration should be given credit for raising China issues, but Hong Kong and Taiwan will benefit from a predictable but still tough US administration. “Support for our friends in Asia is not coming to an end.”
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