‘Harris’s no 2 taught in China’: Chinese internet reacts to Walz
China is taking notice of Kamala Harris’s choice for vice president, Tim Walz, who lives halfway around the globe.
Chinese social media users were talking about Mr. Walz’s 1989 year-long teaching stint in the southeast province of Guangdong, which was a popular topic on Weibo with 12 million views.
Afterward, he went on a honeymoon in the nation with his spouse, fellow educator Gwen Whipple.
At one point, Mr. Walz called his choice to become a teacher in China “one of the best things I’ve ever done”.
Before entering politics, the 60-year-old governor of Minnesota coached football and taught history.
He moved to China to teach English and American history at a high school right out of college.
The fact that it happened in 1989 – the year of the Tiananmen Square massacre – was not lost on those commenting on Chinese social media.
On 4 June that year, Chinese tanks rolled into Beijing’s central square, where hundreds of thousands had gathered demanding political reforms. The day ended in bloodshed and to this day it is unclear exactly how many died. Some estimates put the death toll upwards of 10,000.
Chinese social media users cannot say much about 1989 or risk getting censored. They refer to it obliquely – one comment simply said “If you know, you know”.
Foreigners who were in China at that time “are the most anti-China”, said one user.
Others pointed out that China in 1989 was a vastly different country. It was well before China became the world’s largest manufacturing hub, then its second-largest economy, and finally, a powerful US rival.
“This candidate was in China at a very different time. The atmosphere was very different,” one comment read.
And yet they hoped that if he wins, he may signal better US-China ties. The two countries have been at loggerheads on trade, advanced technology, and China’s geopolitical ambitions.
One Weibo user pointed out that Mr. Walz’s “unique background gives him a real perspective on China”, and he could “promote cultural exchanges between China and the United States at a time when… relations are extremely difficult”.
Back then, Mr Walz spent a year teaching at the Foshan No 1 High School under a Harvard University volunteer programme.
When he returned to the US, he told a local newspaper that there were “no limits” on what the Chinese could accomplish “if they had proper leadership”.
“They are such kind, generous, capable people,” he said.
Mr Walz and his wife were married on 4 June 1994 – the fifth anniversary of the Tiananmen uprising. She said in an interview that “he wanted to have a date he’ll always remember”.
The couple then started a business that organized summer educational trips to China for US students.
There hasn’t been much official reaction yet from the Republicans to Mr Walz’s time in China.
But some allies of Trump have said Mr Walz’s nomination would be welcomed in China, although Beijing has not commented on it.
“Communist China is very happy with @GovTimWalz as Kamala’s VP pick,” Richard Grenell, a former acting director of National Intelligence in the previous Trump administration, said on X.
