Donald Trump’s improbable victory in the U.S. presidential election provoked global shock and angst on Wednesday over the implications for everything from trade to human rights and climate change.
The bombastic billionaire defeated Hillary Clinton in a result that few predicted, as millions of American voters shrugged off concerns over his temperament, lack of experience, and accusations of sexist and racist behaviour.
Mr. Trump’s rise has been keenly watched abroad as he campaigned on a platform of trashing trade agreements, questioning alliances, restricting immigration and dismissing climate change.
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In often hushed scenes, many attendees at election-watching events around Asia expressed deep misgivings about Mr. Trump taking the reins of the world’s most powerful nation and economy.
Dianita Sugiyo, 34, a university lecturer in Indonesia — the world’s most populous Muslim country — said she was concerned by Mr. Trump’s calls to temporarily ban Muslims from countries with histories of terrorism.
“He has always been anti-Muslim and I am afraid he will discriminate against Muslims,” said Ms. Sugiyo, a member of a leading Indonesian moderate Muslim organisation.
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“The United States is a multicultural country and there are a lot of Muslims there, so this is very terrifying,” she added, speaking at a U.S. embassy event in Jakarta.
The election of an opponent of free trade caused financial markets across Asia to plunge, with Tokyo’s main index tumbling more than 5 per cent, while stock futures on US and European markets also fell when they opened.
“The world is globalising and if the U.S., which is one of the economic powerhouses, is going to put up walls, I don’t see that as good for the world economy,” said Clarita Carlos, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines.
“They can practically slow down economic growth for everybody. He is a businessman. He should know better.”
Mr. Trump has vowed to ditch the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, perhaps President Barack Obama’s main diplomatic legacy in the region.
Tang Siew Mun, head of the ASEAN Studies Centre at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said such moves would severely damage the U.S. in a region where China is posing a growing leadership challenge.
“For us in the region, we ask these questions: does America still stand for free trade as far as TPP is concerned? Will America stand for and engage internationally as a global leader?” he said, speaking on Channel NewsAsia.
Environmentalists also recoiled, as Mr. Trump has threatened previously to “cancel” the historic U.N. pact struck last year to address climate change.
“What have we become?” asked Greenpeace Southeast Asia’s Executive Director Yeb Sano.
“On climate change, clearly this is a massive blow to our prospects of progress and hope that the Paris Agreement had given us.”
At election events around the region, American Democratic supporters gradually deflated as Mr. Trump’s victory materialised, while Republicans were buoyed.