Hongkongers must not misjudge Biden and the future of US-China relations
- It would be unwise to characterise Biden as pro-China, especially if Hongkongers hope to gain the support of Western democracies
- Hong Kong’s own democrats, meanwhile, should heed Biden’s acceptance speech, and set aside their differences
The US election was fiercely contested, with an unprecedented voter turnout of around 148 million. Trump and Biden have so far received around 71 million and 77 million votes respectively.
Although the past few years have intensified the red-blue divide in America, the message that rang out loud and clear in Biden’s acceptance speech is that he intends to be “a president who seeks not to divide, but to unify; who doesn’t see red states and blue states, only sees the United States”.
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However, the conflict between Biden and Trump supporters continues to play out, not just on American soil but also overseas. In Hong Kong, a rift is deepening in the non-establishment camp, between radicals and traditional democrats.
While it is true that sanctions against China were lifted during a Democratic administration (Bill Clinton’s), the record clearly shows that both parties have favoured China at different points in time.
In fact, the Republicans and Democrats have for a long time broadly agreed about US policy towards China. For decades, the US has maintained peace with China by opening up bilateral trade. The US-China relationship only deteriorated drastically in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, which shook the West but from which China came away not only relatively unscathed, but also more ambitious.
It is therefore inaccurate and unwise to characterise Biden and the Democrats as pro-China. This position does Hong Kong no good, with regard to gaining the support of Western democracies in the future.
In fact, it has been pointed out that the Communist Party may be disappointed about Trump’s defeat; after all, he has caused chaos in the US in the past four years, weakening America, its institutions and its global standing.
In the US, Biden has called for an end to bitter divisions and asked Americans to “give each other a chance”. It is time for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp to reflect on what to do next. After their departure from Legco, the democrats must build a consensus with the rest of the non-establishment camp and get Hong Kong back on the right track.
Albert Cheng King-hon is a political commentator