On the evening of September 10th, Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump held a presidential debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the National Constitution Center, attracting both Chinese netizens to watch and discuss. Many netizens could not help but think about the current political situation in China.
The debate, the first face-to-face encounter between the two-party candidates, Trump and Harris, in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, took place in the swing state with the largest population in Pennsylvania.
Lasting 90 minutes, the debate was extensively covered by various mainland Chinese media outlets. The financial media outlet “Financial Union Society” provided a live text broadcast of the entire televised debate. According to Voice of America, as of 7 p.m. Beijing time on September 11th, Chinese readers surpassed 140 million views. On Weibo, the topic “Trump vs. Harris TV Debate” briefly topped the trending list, with a morning reading volume reaching 33.88 million times.
From the handshake between the two at the start to both claiming victory after the debate, Chinese netizens continue to discuss. While many adopt a bystander attitude, showing little interest in American politics, some couldn’t help but draw parallels to China’s political environment.
One netizen from Sichuan commented, “When will our country have such a debate?” Another netizen cautioned them, “Be careful what you say, you might end up in trouble.” However, another netizen boldly predicted, “It may take hundreds of years,” suggesting that democratic elections in China are a distant prospect.
Expressing regret, another netizen remarked, “Too bad China can’t do this.” Questions arose, “Why doesn’t China have candidate debates?” and “I’m almost 30 years old, but in our country, I’ve never exercised my right to vote in elections.”
A commentator, “American Journalism Classroom,” noted the significance of presidential debates in American democracy. These debates not only serve as a platform for candidates to showcase their visions but also allow voters to directly understand the candidates aspiring to lead the nation.
By focusing on critical issues of concern to voters and enabling direct comparisons among debate participants, debates during elections ensure that voters obtain essential information to understand where candidates stand on issues affecting people’s lives. This transparency helps cultivate an informed citizenry, crucial for a healthy democratic system.
Political commentator Tang Jingyuan bluntly stated that Chinese people are not concerned about the policy content or the performance of the two individuals in the debate. What truly captivates them is the demonstration of American-style democracy in the debate, where people aspiring to be president must present governance proposals and face scrutiny from nationwide and even global audiences.
According to Tang, many Chinese netizens feel a sense of involvement when reflecting on their own political participation rights as they understand that democracy is the international trend, regardless of the rigorous censorship of thoughts by the Chinese Communist Party.
Moreover, the impact runs deeper as the current U.S. President Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race on July 21st due to public pressure after a poor performance in a televised debate at the end of June. This textbook example of democratic practice turning into reality in the eyes of Chinese netizens directly challenges the single-party dominance of the CCP and becomes a sensitive topic for the CCP.
Tang highlighted that the idea that “leaders perform poorly should be replaced” is extremely sensitive and provocative for the CCP. The fear is that it might trigger associations among the Chinese populace, questioning why Xi Jinping, with a disastrous track record, continues to cling to power and seek re-election.
As observed by Tang, the focus of the Chinese authorities and official media on the U.S. election is concentrated on which candidate’s China policy would be more favorable to China. However, after watching this debate, they might be highly disappointed as the content related to U.S.-China relations during the 90-minute debate was minimal.