BANGKOK — A dissident once branded Enemy No. 1 by the Chinese Communist Party is spreading conspiracy theories about vote-rigging in the US presidential election.
Pro-democracy campaigners from Hong Kong are championing President Donald Trump’s claims of an electoral victory.
Human rights activists and religious leaders in Vietnam and Myanmar are expressing reservations about President-elect Joe Biden’s ability to keep authoritarians in check.
It might seem counterintuitive that Asian defenders of democracy are among the most ardent supporters of Trump, who has declared his friendship with Xi Jinping of China and Kim Jong Un of North Korea.
As Biden now assembles his foreign-policy team, prominent human rights activists across Asia are worried about his desire for the US to hew again to international norms. They believe that Biden, like former President Barack Obama, will pursue accommodation rather than confrontation in the face of China’s assertive moves.
“Biden is president, and it’s like having Xi Jinping sitting in the White House,” said Elmer Yuen, a Hong Kong entrepreneur. “He wants to coexist with China, and whoever coexists with the CCP loses.” (The New York Times)
