It has been interesting seeing the election from a different part of the world.

China has a large influence on Asian media. I have heard before that much of the Chinese language media here is controlled by the CCP, or is naturally friendly towards it. According to Chinese speakers here, they use it influence things and push a "greater China" policy. It is interesting how ethnic Han are fairly loyal to China, even though they are not Chinese citizens.

A couple of days before the election, I had a conversation with a friend that is an elderly gentlemen of Han descent that was a professor of Chinese language, culture, and history. He usually tells me of the amazing technology that China is developing. But, this time he told me he thought Harris would be a great president and was "a great speaker."

That must have been an angle that China was using because almost no one would consider her to be a "great speaker." Obviously, even the fawning US media was not saying that about her. Given that he seems to only read Chinese media, it seems like they were pushing her in their press.

I've also run into a few other people here who are not US citizens but who are really affected by her loss. It isn't the type of meltdowns you see on social media in the US (this is Asia after all) but they are seriously bummed out enough to talk about how depressed they are. It was somewhat stunning to me, as I didn't think they would care that much, or have the same emotional attachment.

While I am ecstatic with the results, I find such Chinese influence concerning. While it could also be the BBC on the radio and TV here, l think much of it was coming from CCP owned or CCP friendly media. I also don't think it is pan-Asian identity politics, because the Chinese don't like the Indians, and consider them to be low-class, impolite, and not as smart (just reporting, not judging). I think we need to figure out some good ways to reach out to people in Asia and provide an attractive alternative to Chinese media.

I don't trust our government, so maybe K-Pop and K-Drama can do it.