TS Phạm Đỗ Chí 's anwers to Sen Nguyen - the journalist from South China Morning Post
Question I. What are Mr. Trump’s current policies that you support? Would you like Mr. Trump to propose policies to better the lives of Asian Americans, especially Vietnamese Americans? Why, why not?
Answer I: For this question, I have 4 main points in ranking of priority:
1) Law and order must be re-established with President Trump’s four more years.
2) The economy is an absolute MUST with Trump to get out of the current recession and heavy unemployment due to the pandemic. Needless to say, the near prospect of vaccines under President Trump’s aggressive push will help this process.
3) Foreign policy: the USA must be strong and assertive again, reversing China’s aggressiveness in economic matters (through unfair trade) and military actions in the South China Sea, notably against Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines.
In the same vein, we are now fully aware of and strongly against the gradual “invasion” of socialism in American society, especially among the young generations. A Biden Presidency would bias toward China and its growing influence in our social and economic life, not mentioning its “current buying of influence” among politicians and the media circles.
4) Border security: this is also a vital issue as a Biden administration will tolerate illegal immigration and spending through “entitlements” programs in Western states, to buy more votes at the national and local levels, as might be seen in past years and in the forthcoming elections.
From a US domestic standpoint, Asian American lives have improved significantly under Trump presidency with a very strong economy, which provided both business and employment opportunities before the pandemic of course. And we place strong hope and belief that only President Trump’s declared policies can help to get all of us out of the present recession quickly.
To the contrary, a Biden administration with increased taxes, notably on the corporate sector, will prolong this recession much further into 2021 and beyond.
From a foreign policy view, Trump’s policy of containing Chinese communist expansion -both political and economic- across Asia (open condemnation of communism, friendliness with Taiwan, strong support for democracy in Hong Kong, denial of China’s territorial claims in South China Sea,…) raises hope for a better life for all Asians, our friends and relatives.
I don’t feel the particular need for a Trump presidency to favor Asian Americans, or Vietnamese Americans in particular. The main reason being that we are a hard-working group in the American society and can be mostly independent. We work hard and diligently enough to contribute to the current well-being and future wealth of this great country.
Question II: Have your life and experience as an Asian American in the U.S. improved since Mr. Trump became president?
Answer II: Personally, my work and economic life have improved significantly under President Trump’s past three and a half years. Most important, I feel secure with my pension thanks to the strong American stock market.
I would simply summarize that for Asian Americans, if not for All Americans, the key motto for the next elections is: Jobs and Pension! You should think twice if you ever thought of a change into a Biden presidency!!!
Question III: What’s TAPA’s plan until November 3 to help rally more votes for Mr. Trump?
Answer III: Our TAPA Group is working hard to call nationwide support for “Trump As President Again” among our Vietnamese Americans. But for the next 6 weeks, we will increase focus on the swing states where our presence should play some significant role.
We have organized several car and boat rallies, where possible, to support President Trump. We have websites to explain clearly his ideas and meaningful policies along the above lines, and have several group gatherings during weekends to guide on voting procedures. This is most important given the current widespread belief in possible voting frauds by the other side. We strongly encourage in-person voting, and avoid voting by mail, if at all possible./.
Chi Pham
Ph.D. in Economics, the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Former Senior Economist of the IMF