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Trump-Russia collusion investigations
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The long-awaited Mueller report could not firmly establish either collusion or obstruction of justice charges against President Donald Trump, but calls for his impeachment have not subsided. Photo: Washington Post
OpinionLetters

Letters | Are Chinese leaders smiling as Trump gets hounded by the Democrats over Russia?

  • China’s leadership rules unopposed, while the US leader is dogged by Democrats and the media, despite the Mueller report clearing him of collusion with Russia
Trump-Russia collusion investigations
Letters
Letters
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China stands to benefit from the ongoing tussle between US President Donald Trump and his political rivals over the question of his alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 US presidential elections.
Since the full redacted report of Robert Mueller’s investigation on this matter was released last Thursday, there have been calls for further investigation or impeachment of Trump by several of his opponents, despite Mueller’s investigation finding no conclusive evidence that the president colluded with Russia.

A fundamental principle of Anglo-Saxon law – as practised in the US, UK and Hong Kong – is that a suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Yet, some Democrats like Elizabeth Warren and some mainstream US media like CNN are not satisfied that Trump was not found guilty of collusion, but cannot let go of pursuing Trump for alleged misbehaviour.

While I prefer the free press in the US to China’s state-controlled media, some US media like CNN and MSNBC are not doing themselves any favours by being so one-sided in their hounding of Trump, because this damages their image of independence and objectivity.

Some people, rightly or wrongly, say Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign has been a pretext to remove his powerful rivals, like former security chief Zhou Yongkang.

The conflict between Trump and his rivals shows the US also has internal strife that is at least as fierce as any power struggle within the Chinese government, if such a power struggle exists in China.

Why China shouldn’t celebrate if Trump loses the border wall battle

I don’t know the mind of the Chinese leaders, but I don’t rule out the possibility that they are secretly enjoying the spectacle of this internal strife between Trump and his domestic enemies.

This civil war within the US is weakening the world’s biggest superpower, easing China’s rise as the new superpower. Maybe this is making the Chinese leaders happy.

Toh Han Shih, Happy Valley

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