Resisting China, Supporting Trump? Mapping Political Identities Among Hong Kongers in the United States

• In Event: 20266 - Right-Wing Politics, Mobilities, and Immigrant Conservatism (Co-sponsored by Section on Political Sociology)

Abstract

Studies of diaspora politics often examine how immigrants mobilize for their homeland, but less is known about how diasporic identification shapes political engagement in the hostland. While Asian Americans typically support the Democratic Party, many Hong Kongers in the U.S. have favored Trump over the past decade. This article uses participant observation and case studies to explore how diasporic organizing influenced Hong Konger Americans’ support for Trump during the 2020 and 2024 elections. Two organizations emerged from a bipartisan group in 2019–2020: one aligns with Trump’s geopolitical stance against China to support frontline protesters, while the other adopts a Republican partisan identity through shared opposition to progressive politics. This paper argues that Hong Konger Americans’ support for Trump stems from their transnational resistance against the Chinese Communist Party, highlighting how immigrant conservatism is shaped by both homeland and hostland political dynamics.

Authors

• Kennedy Chi-pan Wong, The King's University

• Maggie Shum, Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College