Chinese public skeptical of Hillary Clinton

By Yang Sheng Source:Global Times Published: 2016/7/28 0:58:01

Feminists in China consider Clinton a role model


Now that the two major US political parties have chosen their presidential candidates, the Chinese have mixed feelings about how each would affect relations with China.

Chinese netizens and experts believe Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton has a very negative image in China, while they feel her Republican Party opponent Donald Trump could be more pragmatic and easier to deal with.

On the other hand, a few Chinese feminists consider Clinton a positive symbol for feminism.

Tuesday night in Philadelphia, the Democratic Party made history by nominating Clinton as the first female candidate of a major party for president.

However, the e-mail scandal caused by Wikileaks last Friday shows Clinton and the Democrats face more questions.

According to a Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV report from Philadelphia on Wednesday, a female protestor opposed to Clinton's nomination said, "we can't trust this woman anymore," while a Sanders supporter told Phoenix TV that "Hillary Clinton is a flawed candidate and she cannot defeat Trump."

Chinese netizens also have similar concerns.

A Wechat user named Whalien52 said that "Although Trump is not a favorable person, Hillary is not a good person at all. Trump is just too straight and radical, but Hillary is a dishonest villainess who plays nasty games behind people's backs and pretends to be a heroine to the public at the same time."

When the Global Times previously conducted an online poll in May asking "Is Donald Trump going to win the general election?" 83 percent of those polled said "yes."

A netizen named LWzsm6 said, "both Trump and Hillary are bad guys, but rather than facing an old unfriendly female politician who consistently opposes China, it would be better to have a crazy but pragmatic businessman in the White House."

Wang Yiwei, a senior fellow of international relations at the Renmin University of China, said Chinese people dislike Clinton because she always shows animosity toward China. Since 1995, when she first visited China as the First Lady, she has been criticizing China on women's rights, and Chinese link her to the pivot to Asia strategy.

Jin Canrong, deputy director of the Center of American Studies at the Renmin University of China, agrees with Wang. He said Chinese netizens who oppose Clinton might be very unsatisfied with current Sino-US ties. They believe ties will remain tense if she becomes president.  

Some time in 2011, when Hillary was Secretary of State, the US began to incite its Asian allies to contain China, and this strategy has created trouble for China, Wang said.

Complex China-US ties

Wang added that China-US ties are complex, so no single person can change it.  "We cannot expect Trump to fix the bilateral relations," Wang said.

Clinton criticized China's role in territorial disputes with regional countries in the East and South China Seas. She met with the Dalai Lama, whom China considers a Tibetan separatist. She also heavily criticizes China on human rights.

Zhang Weiwei, the dean of the China Institute at Shanghai's Fudan University, said Clinton has always been rude to China but Trump admitted the US has no right to criticize others when it is beset by its own problems at home.

Zhang said Trump's honesty might improve his image among the Chinese people.

However, Trump also criticized China for stealing jobs from the US and manipulating its currency.

Zhang explained Trump's accusations are not the same as his policies if he becomes US president. Trump might compromise with Wall Street and Washington if he becomes president, because that's the nature of US politics, Zhang said.

Although many Chinese netizens expressed their disgust toward Clinton, Jin said the Internet only reflects part of public opinion, and Clinton is also popular among some Chinese women.

Ke Qianting, a feminism researcher and professor at Zhongshan University, said Clinton's nomination symbolizes the development of feminism.

She said in Western countries such as the UK, Germany and the US, women have a greater voice in politics.  And feminists also admire her courage and ambition, Ke added.


Newspaper headline: Chinese skeptical of Hillary


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