Asians on Trump
November 19th, 2016, an anti-Trump protest burst out in the city of Gainesville, Florida. Out of curiosity, I went to the protest scene, and it was the first time that I’ve participated in a demonstration. I was moved by seeing how people expressed their ideas freely, and as an Asian, I simply want to figure out how my peers view about this election, which according to the mainstream American media, has aroused one of the most controversial debates in this land of free.
Jack, a student from the University of California, Davis, expresses his ideas on Trump’s election. He has predicted the result of Trump winning the election because he thinks the media plays a dominant role in shaping people’s idea. Meanwhile, Trump’s election, in his opinion, will bring some benefits to China. If Trump’s policy of dropping out of TPP is achieved, it might indirectly benefit China-led RCEP deal, and help China get through the tough time of economic transformation. Speaking of immigrant, he mentions that Trump only emphasizes on the deportation of criminals, which he think will do good to both American citizens and international students like himself.
Lu, a student from Sichuan University, one of the top ten universities in China, puts doubt into Trump’s foreign trade policy. The labor cost in Asian countries such as China and Vietnam will discourage private companies from voluntarily bringing jobs back to America. And the statement of Trump being xenophobic does not sound dubious to him because several televised speeches he has watched tell him that Trump being xenophobic is a fact, instead of a rumor.
Zhang, a Chinese international student studying majoring in communication in Sciences Po of France, shares her ideas on Trump’s victory. She thinks the media have totally misled the audiences due to echo chamber theory and the spiral of silence theory. Social media platform such as Facebook continues to feed people with personalized news, which causes an illusion that there is only one kind of existing ideology. She also points out that Trump’s tough policy on Visa allocation and manufacturing retreat will panic certain groups of Chinese.
Lee, majoring political science at Colorado College, admits that Trump’s election was a total shock to her. All of sudden, her Chinese peers popped out from nowhere celebrating Trump’s victory. As a liberal, she was shocked, overwhelmed and even frightened, not by the passion of Trump supporters, but by the symbolic metaphor of accepting Trump as the president. It means an acceptance of a “new norm”, in which xenophobia, homophobia, and misogyny are deemed as common to the society.
Tina, majoring in journalism in Hong Kong Baptist University, says that she was overwhelmed by a mixed feeling of confusion and shock. Trump is more like a businessman, a reality show king with a sense of arrogance than being a president of the United States. Speaking of Trump’s policy of taking jobs from China back to America, she thinks it is sentimental instead of being pragmatic, considering the global economic situation.
Chen is a student studying at Colorado College, majoring in anthropology. Being surrounded by liberal students, she kind of feels awkward among them. She holds a moderate ideology, which made her pretty calm when the election result came out. In her opinion, Trump’s policy interprets pragmatism, which Hillary will fail to achieve if she wins the election. To her, judging whether Trump is eligible to be the president is less important than America’s future immigrant policy, such as H1B visa allocation, a paper that could give her a chance to continue staying in the land of the United States.
Lee, is an American-born Korean, studying at the University of Florida. What she cares most about a president could offer is a reliable health care system and a trading system that could shrink the gap between rich and poor. And she said Trump’s policy might cause a negative impact on her homeland. South Korea has kept allied to America after Korean War, and Trump’s threat to withdraw the army from South Korea if South Korean government doesn’t pay for the US military expenses truly worries her. It somehow means a total exposure to the range of missiles from North Korea.
Hu, graduated from Peking University, the best university in China, is now working at a hedge fund. He mentions that the economic proposition Trump has brought up is aggressive to the global situation. He probably will compromise once entering the oval office. The inflation is unavoidable if Trump sticks to his trade policy, and China as a large exportation country will rig the rate of RMB, thus causing the devaluation of US dollars in a long term. Additionally, trillions of dollars of US treasury bond bought by China will become unvalued due to a lower exchange rate. “In a long-term”, he says, “RMB will appreciate eventually, and to some Chinese fashion girls, it means cheaper Gucci bags”.
