Trump reaches out to Chinese voters

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Detroit, Michigan, US, November 6, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

"We got more than 8,000 followers in less than one hour after we put the letter online. Now the number is almost 60,000," Xie, founder of the Civil Rights WeChat account and PhD holder from an American university, said on Saturday. "The Chinese community is very excited to see the letter. Most responses are positive."

The letter, signed by Trump and translated into Chinese, stressed the common values shared by the Chinese community and Trump.

"For too long, Chinese Americans have been ignored by Washington," it reads. "I have a lot of respect for Chinese people and Chinese Americans especially. We share a lot of the same values. Work hard. Push our children to be good - no drinking, no drugs and do well in school. Make our parents and grandparents proud of us. Work to build a lasting legacy.

"I will make our schools better and safer," the letter continues. "We will build a wall and make a strict screening process to keep out terrorists. ... I will lower taxes and bring down our deficit by encouraging US companies to bring their trillions of tax sheltered profits back.

"When this election is over, I will work to bring our country together to be greater than before," Trump said. "But this can only happen with your help! ... Help me make America great again!"

The letter encourages viewers to make donation varying from $6 to $200.

The Chinese-American community, with a population of 4 million, which accounts for nearly a quarter of the Asian-American population in the US, according to a Pew Research report in 2013, has become a battleground for minority votes from both sides.

With widespread and easy access to Chinese followers, WeChat has become a channel to reach potential voters.

Xie said he received the letter from Trump after he asked for it when someone from Trump's campaign team approached Xie, telling him that Trump's campaign appreciated the support from the Chinese-American community and wanted to reach out to more Chinese Americans.

He created the account in California in late 2013. Last month, it had about 2.38 million different views and more than 1.6 million viewers. Between Nov 2, 2015 and Nov 1, 2016, it has more than 15.2 million different views and more than 10.7 million viewers. And 76.4 percent of the followers live in the United States, according to its recent survey.

'Polarized' citizens

Cliff Li, an adviser to the Asian Pacific US Advisory Committee for the Trump campaign, said US citizens are "polarized" politically.

"The momentum is good for Trump," said the executive director of the National Committee of Asian-American Republicans. "Hillary has more offices in swing states and more surrogates than Trump has. But her advantage is declining."

"I dislike Trump's temperament, but I feel he's the one, between Hillary and Trump, to bring the country in the right direction," said Li, citing Trump's 100-day contract with the US voter and Hillary's plan for the first 100 days.

wanglinyan@chinadailyusa.com