Read more at The New York Times
BANGKOK — A dissident once branded Enemy No. 1 by the Chinese Communist Party is spreading conspiracy theories about vote-rigging in the American presidential election.
Pro-democracy campaigners from Hong Kong are championing President Trump’s claims of an electoral victory.
Human rights activists and religious leaders in Vietnam and Myanmar are expressing reservations about President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s ability to keep authoritarians in check.
It might seem counterintuitive that Asian defenders of democracy are among the most ardent supporters of Mr. Trump, who has declared his friendship with Xi Jinping of China and Kim Jong-un of North Korea. But it is precisely Mr. Trump’s willingness to flout diplomatic protocol, abandon international accords and keep his opponents off-balance that have earned him plaudits as a leader strong enough to stand up to dictators and defend democratic ideals overseas, even if he has been criticized as diminishing them at home.