Has Trump made you change your opinion about your country?
I am born, raised Chinese. For the past 5 years I lived in America.And yes. Trump indeed has changed my opinion about China, and is more balanced. “Whatever works, works” is probably the best way to describe my attitude now.Before Trump:I thought democracy, in which citizens vote for their governors is the better way of election. America may not be the right example of direct democracy. But on the scale of 1–10, perhaps I can give it a solid 6. By which I mean, the majority’s votes eventually will matter to a great extent in America. I had faith that, people as a collective will always make the right choice.After Trump:I now question people’s political literacy, and perhaps even think that most voters are, in fact, not well-equipped to participate in political decisions. China is an example of technocratic dictatorship/ aristocratic democracy, with a very strong authoritarian flavor. An average Chinese citizen, who is not affiliated with the CCP, will never participate, directly, or indirectly, to select their president/general secretary. Although there is a voting system within CCP, but the process is very much a “closed door” to the general public. The selected Chinese technocrats, although they may be selected not by people’s will, but they need to be more or less tested as policymakers in the first place, and public figures who at the very least, know how to properly behave. I had always thought that this kind of system is outdated, and not good for long-term development. Perhaps I still do a little bit.But for all I know, China could possibly have collapsed had it given its citizens a complete power to directly vote for their governors from the get-go, because simply, I don’t think most Chinese, myself included, have been politically literate enough to vote for anything. Crowds are easy to sway. You throw at them some ear-pleasing, empty promises about job security, tax reduction, better eduction and life quality, despite not having any realistic concrete plans but otherwise appear confident, most people would just follow you like naive ducklings not knowing who is the real deal.