How Donald Trump is making a case against democracy for China

Tony Kwok says each time the US president’s actions call into question the very basics of US ethical standards, they show that Western-style democracy is clearly not a good example for China to follow

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US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, on July 7. Alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election is just one of the controversies to have rocked the Trump administration. Photo: EPA

Published: 10:17am, 4 Aug 2017Updated: 6:28pm, 4 Aug 2017

The generally accepted definition of an ethical leader is that they should have personal integrity and honesty, respect human rights and equality; abide by the rule of law and exercise good governance. Donald Trump seems to have breached them all in his six months as US president.

Firstly, he has refused to place his business interests in a blind trust, as some of his predecessors did. Instead, he put his vast holdings in a revocable trust managed by his two sons. Trump is able to do this because US presidents are not subject to the same conflict of interest rules as other government employees. But the fact remains that doing so leaves the door open to potential conflict of interest.

Trump has also appointed his daughter and son-in-law to senior positions in the White House. Can you imagine the new Hong Kong chief executive doing the same and surviving it?

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and special adviser Ivanka Trump in the Oval Office on July 31. Photo: Reuters

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Soon after taking office, Trump ordered a ban on travel to the US by the citizens of six Muslim-majority nations. Then acting US attorney general Sally Yates refused to implement the plan on the grounds that it was unconstitutional, and she was immediately fired. Yet the order was subsequently dismissed by the court as indeed unconstitutional and discriminatory. The dismissal of Yates demonstrated that Trump has no respect for the constitution, human rights and equality.