SINGAPORE: This week, the world watched with bated breath as former US President Donald Trump, whose anti-immigration campaign rhetoric included inflammatory and sexist remarks, claimed a sweeping election victory.
In China, netizens have been closely following the election and interest in Trump’s performance and sway over voters exploded online across domestic social media platforms and apps.
As vote counting closed on Wednesday, microblogging trends and hashtags dominated heated discussion among millions of Chinese internet users, who weighed in on Trump’s “luck” and his chances for success as well as a “disappointing” performance by Vice President Kamala Harris.
The winner of this year’s election will have a sweeping impact on China as its contentious relationship with the US grows, analysts and political watchers say.
On the Xiaohongshu app, China’s version of Instagram, the hashtag “Trump wins 2024 US Elections” hit number one with users as they reshared Trump videos and memes.
“At the ripe old age of 78, got his ear grazed (by a bullet), was prosecuted and almost jailed, appealed 60 times, and yet he still hunted for a job. Now that he has found one suitable for him,” remarked one user.
Many also found humour in news of Trump’s victory. “Congratulations America, it’s a boy,” read a top rated comment underneath a video shared by a state news site.
“IT’S OFFICIAL, HE’S BACK”
On the Sina Weibo microblogging site, where US election news has been strictly filtered by Chinese state censors, multiple Trump-related threads dominated discussion among millions of users.
“Trump declares victory” was the top trend on Weibo on Nov 6 – reaching at least 510 million views. “It’s official, he’s back,” wrote one Weibo user in a comment that drew more than 15,000 likes. “Our condolences to you (America). Get ready for round two.”
“Putin is pleased,” said another.
“Looks like there’s a show to watch for the next four years,” another Weibo user wrote in a comment that was liked more than 38,000 times.
Source: CNA
