Ko, a Hong Kong retiree, felt weighed down on Wednesday afternoon. His burden was the result of the US presidential election, and the reality that former Republican president Donald Trump would be returning to the White House for a second term after beating Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris.
A TV screen showing preliminary results in the US election in a restaurant in Hong Kong on November 6, 2024. Photo: Mladen Antonov/AFP.
“I had a heavy heart, because Trump’s policies are selfish. He only cares about so-called US interests, rather than having a global worldview. [The Republican Party] is not like the Democratic Party, which cares about the values of democracy, equality, peace and gender,” Ko, who only provided his surname, told HKFP in Cantonese on a street corner in Admiralty on Thursday afternoon.
“While some might think the Democrats are a bit extreme [in their values], people still have a choice – they can choose someone other than the Republicans, who only talk about money,” Ko continued.
A former teacher at a university, since retiring Ko said he made money from investments. He said he was worried that Hong Kong’s economic outlook would worsen and geopolitics would become more unstable over the next four years Trump is in office.
People in a shopping mall in Admiralty. Photo: GovHK.
Ko’s concerns reflect the international impact of the US election, which while decided upon by American voters has implications far beyond its borders, from trade with China to wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
Economic woes
In Ko’s opinion, relations between the US and China are unlikely to improve in the near future, no matter who leads the White House.
“Because [the US] has seen the true nature of the Chinese Communist Party, with Hong Kong as an example. Changes in Hong Kong’s freedom and human rights over the past few years have shown them that China does not hold the spirit of a contract,” Ko said. “Now the world has gone back to the Cold War era.”
Former US president Donald Trump, speaks during a campaign stop to address Pennsylvanians who are concerned about the threat of China to US agriculture, on September 23, 2024. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP.
In Wan Chai, Philip, a clerk in legal sector who only offered his first name, told HKFP he had not been surprised by the election results.
“I think Trump is more practical than Harris. The Democratic Party talked so much about abortion, which was meaningless. Trump focused more on the economy; that’s more realistic,” Philip said in Cantonese. “Though I did not expect Trump lead by so much. I thought the votes would be closer.”
With Trump as US leader, Philip said he expected that the mainland China and Hong Kong’s economies would suffer further as a result of planned trade policies. Trump has called “tariff” his “favourite word,” promising to raise tariffs on Chinese-made goods by at least 60 per cent.
Nevertheless, Philip envies that Americans can vote. “It’s freedom. They can choose the leaders they like. I used to vote in Hong Kong, too,” Philip said.
Hongkongers have never been able to vote for their leader, and recent changes to the city’s electoral system reduced democratic representation in the legislature and effectively shut out any opposition by ensuring that only “patriots” can run.
Exchange Square in Central, Hong Kong. Photo: GovHK.
Ko was also wary of US interest rates rising again as a result of Trump’s economic policies, which would cause interest rates in the city to spike as the Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar.
“Trump promised tax cuts, but I doubt he can cut significant government expenditure. The only way out will be to issue bonds. By doing this, the interest rate will go up again, and that will have a negative impact on Hong Kong’s economy, especially the property sector,” Ko said.
Analysts have told international media that while China can expect to experience economic headwinds under a second Trump term, its may benefit from an enhanced position on the global stage if the US becomes more isolationist and turns away from long-held alliances.
‘Stop the wars’
In Wan Chai MTR station, Chow, an office clerk, said she was happy that Trump had won as she believed he would put an end to conflicts raging in different corners of the globe.
“Trump will stop the wars. During his four-year in office, there were no wars around the world. Wars have pushed inflation so high over the past few years. Now I am confident that the world will improve,” Chow, who only offered her surname, told HKFP in Cantonese.
A photo taken on April 11, 2022 shows war debris in Chernihiv, a city in northern Ukraine. Photo: Oleksandr Ratushniak/UNDP Ukraine, via Flickr.
Trump has repeatedly said that he can end the war in Ukraine “in 24 hours.” Declaring victory ahead of the election being called by the networks on Wednesday, he told supporters: “We had no wars, for four years, we had no wars. Except we defeated ISIS.”
It is a line he has repeated on multiple occasions, and a falsehood that has been repeatedly fact checked by media outlets.
Meanwhile, Chow said she was not worried about US-China relations. “Trump talks very radically about China, but ultimately he will not act that radically,” she said, adding that she believed there would be no change to cross-strait ties under Trump.
“China is only intimidating Taiwan. They will not start a war with Taiwan,” Chow said. She added that some of her relatives had moved to the US many years ago, and they all supported Trump, in part because they thought the Democratic Party had gone too far in terms of gender equality.
Money and responsibility
In a wet market in Wan Chai, stall holder Tsim told HKFP that the return of Trump was not good news for China.
“[Trump] will definitely act very tough on China, at least for the first one or two years. And when he takes aim at China, Hong Kong will be affected,” Tsim said in Cantonese, murmuring, “I still wonder – was the assassination attempt something he orchestrated himself?”
Donald Trump is rushed offstage following an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024 . Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/AFP.
The president-elect has been the subject of two assassination attempts in recent months. The first saw a bullet graze Trump’s ear while he was addressing supporters at a rally in Pennsylvania, and resulted in the deaths of an attendee and the 20-year-old shooter. It also sparked countless conspiracy theories from both the left and right sides of the political aisle.
Tsim said that from watching the US election, he had got the impression that politics was all about money.
“Trump’s got so many legal troubles. If there were not rich people supporting him, like the one from Tesla, could he have become president? Money is the root of all problems,” Tsim said.
When he is inaugurated on January 20, Trump will become the first convicted felon to enter the White House, having been found guilty in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money paid to a porn actor to stop her from speaking about an alleged affair. He also faces prosecution in three other state and federal cases, though legal experts expect those to be wound down following Trump’s victory, according to international media.
As far as Ko is concerned, though, the leader of the US has more to think about than domestic affairs. “The US should be aware that its fortune came from a lot of other countries. The country is so strong because it is purchasing resources and manpower from other countries. In this sense, they have a responsibility to maintain peace, order and some values around the world,” he said.
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