This is the fourth in a daily series that explores how expats from around the world feel ahead of the US presidential election on November 8. We have spoken to people from Latin America, South Asia and East Asia next we talk to people from countries in Africa.
ABU DHABI // UAE expatriates from East Asia favour Hillary Clinton in the upcoming US presidential elections but do not believe the change of presidency will significantly alter regional relationships.
Janice Liu, online editor at New York University Abu Dhabi, said that if she could vote, she would choose the Democratic Party candidate to ensure stability.
“If I could vote in this US election I’d vote for Hillary Clinton,” the Singaporean said. “Of the two candidates she has a more sound mind in terms of policy, but that’s also kind of her downfall.”
Ms Liu said she thinks people voting for Donald Trump are doing so because they are interested in seeing a more dramatic change in the US, after years of what they consider to be stagnation.
“I can just see that being more disastrous and creating a much bigger problem in the long run, so I’d rather go for a more safe option in Hillary,” she said.
“Singapore has always had good relations with the US. I think our ties will stay strong regardless of who it is, because Trump has been very targeted in terms of his stance towards Muslim countries,” she said.
Although Singapore has a large number of Muslims, it is not considered a Muslim country.
“I am concerned, however, with how the economy will change. Trump seems to be inclined to collaborate a lot more with Russia and China, steering away from the traditional. I think it will all have an impact,” she said.
Atoka Jo, a Japanese student at NYU Abu Dhabi, said that skepticism must be met with a degree of sound judgment.
“If I had a chance, I will vote for Hillary Clinton. I will not lie that Clinton does not have her own faults,” she said.
“Her double-sidedness in terms of her fluctuation in her views and proposed policies in response to the masses is clear.”
Despite Mrs Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state, which prompted a federal investigation, Ms Jo said she thinks the Democrat is better than Mr Trump.
She said one problem was the way Mr Trump handled sexual assault allegations following the release of a video in which the Republican described forcing himself on women.
“Trump is intolerable in terms of his extremely sexist and racist remarks. When he was asked about the sexual assault during the presidential debate, he debased the importance of the topic by regarding it as ‘locker room talk’,” said Ms Jo.
Mr Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims from entering the US is another sore spot, she said.
“He put the blame on the entire Muslim population for being terrorists by bringing up the 9/11 World Trade Centre crash,” she said.
“Having many friends who are Muslims, I, too, feel offended when he criticises [all] Muslims for what a few extremist groups, like ISIL, have done.”
For H B from Brunei, the difference between the two candidates is minimal, but he would vote for Mrs Clinton in favour of economic stability for his country.
His main concern is the treatments of foreigners and minorities in the US. A victory for Mr Trump, he said, could cause foreign investments in the country to slow down or be withdrawn entirely.
However, he doesn’t feel that a change in the presidency will affect him in any way.
“The concern for the country would be the level of economic activity between the two countries going forward,” he said.
nalwasmi@thenational.ae