A dancing Trump finds internet fame in China

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — 

Memes, inspirational quotes, and adjacent creation videos person brought President-elect Donald Trump to a caller tallness of fame connected Chinese societal media since his election.

On Xiaohongshu, a media level astir akin to Instagram, the hunt word “Trump” shows much than 200,000 posts connected the taxable and 880 cardinal views, with caller apical posts each accruing much than 72,000 views and thousands of comments.

Videos of the president-elect dancing to the opus YMCA by the set Village People person been circulating successful Chinese cyberspace.

Many commenters find the contented funny, calling him a jokester oregon comedian, portion others presumption it arsenic inspirational, seeing the older soon-to-be two-time American president arsenic a relation model.

Trump’s popularity stems from a benignant of vitality and enthusiasm that helium displayed passim his campaign, analysts said, attracting galore young Chinese who grew up looking up to much somber and rigid communist idols wrong their ain country.

Videos of Elon Musk astatine a pre-election Trump rally person besides made an content connected Chinese societal media level users. On these posts, commenters picture him arsenic “a bully benignant of capitalist” and “someone who volition marque America strong.”

'They request an idol'

These impressions travel amidst a wide malaise facing the Chinese system that has sparked the young Chinese radical to ‘lie flat’, meaning to cease striving for a amended beingness successful look of a competitory occupation marketplace and different pressures.

One remark commonly posted nether galore Trump-related posts reads: “He is 78 years old, was deed by a slug successful the receptor and bled profusely, was convicted of a felony and astir sent to jail, had appealed implicit 60 times but inactive continued to enactment hard to find a occupation and recovered the champion occupation for himself. What excuse bash you person for not moving hard?”

Liu, a writer from Jiangsu province, said Trump’s hard way backmost to the presidency is precisely what inspires Chinese younker erstwhile compared to the accepted Communist Party heroes. Liu lone gave his surname, due to the fact that talking to overseas media is dangerous, helium says.

“They request an idol who represents the anticipation of idiosyncratic success. Trump fits this image: helium gets stronger with each setback, continually fights back, and inactive works hard adjacent astatine an older age,” Liu said, adding that “more importantly, young Chinese agelong for the benignant of just and conscionable situation that has allowed Trump to succeed.”

Trump stands successful nonstop opposition to galore revered Chinese figures, specified arsenic Xi Jinping, Mao Zedong, and communist worker Lei Feng — a exemplary leader successful China.

“Their lives look excessively hard and are not the benignant of lives young radical successful China aspire to,” Liu said, adding that Trump stands for thing different: the individualistic, opportunistic ‘American Dream’

“Whether you tin deterioration a golden bracelet earlier New Years is each up to you!” comments 1 idiosyncratic ‘Sleepy Orange’ nether a run rally video, referencing golden arsenic an important acquisition typically exchanged connected the Chinese New Year. It is simply a awesome of wealthiness and prosperity. More than 2,000 radical liked this comment.

Liu said helium besides appreciates Trump’s straightforwardness, arsenic helium doesn’t preach lofty ideals and morals but is applicable and realistic. Liu described Chinese authorities and their governmental slogans arsenic "vague and empty."

Popularity reflects dislike of Xi, says influencer

Chen Weiyu, a Chinese media influencer surviving successful the United States, told VOA that Trump’s popularity connected Chinese societal media represents a heavy disdain toward Chinese leaders, calling people’s engagement with his contented a signifier of “deprogramming.”

"Rather than admiration for Trump himself, it's much astir a rejection and absorption to Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party. By expressing their liking for Trump, they are successful information expressing their dislike and absorption to Xi Jinping," Chen said.

She stressed that radical astatine the bottommost of nine successful China, struggling to past successful an system controlled by communist elites, consciousness that nary 1 is acrophobic astir oregon advocating for them.

In contrast, working-class individuals facing unemployment successful the United States tin usage their votes to elite a person who they judge volition correspond their interests and make a amended argumentation situation for them.

Chen besides attributed the abundance of Trump contented connected Chinese platforms to the expanding prevalence of virtual backstage networks arsenic a mode of accessing accusation that is usually forbidden successful China.

However, Zhou “Zuola” Shuguang, 1 of the archetypal Chinese national journalists to relocate to Taiwan, said the popularity of Trump connected Chinese societal media whitethorn person the "tacit approval" of the Chinese Communist Party.

Beijing's censorship strategy is consistently strict astir controlling content, truthful the information that Trump-related contented is capable to dispersed wide connected societal media suggests that the CCP is intentionally allowing the contented to beryllium seen, Zhou told VOA.

"In different words, if Trump's contented appears connected Chinese societal media, it means that Trump is not seen arsenic a large menace by the CCP," helium said.

While Trump-related contented is getting clicks, not each of them are positive.

“It’s not a bully happening for Trump to travel back, God bless China” said a netizen successful 1 comment. Others simply poke amusive astatine the president-elect, the colour of his hairsbreadth and the mode his constitution makes him look connected stage.

“60% of the tariffs volition beryllium fixed to China, however galore escaped commercialized enterprises are going to beryllium suppressed,” reads different remark liked by astir 1,000 people.

Katherine Michaelson, Samuel Hui contributed to this report.