Viral Trump Commentary by 'US Professor' Actually Written in Shenzhen

By Bailey Hu, June 22, 2018

This past week, an associate professor of economics in Shenzhen allegedly posted on his WeChat Moments: "The article I sent out yesterday at 3pm has received over 100,000 views in 10 hours, thanks to all the friends who shared! And all are welcome to subscribe to my official WeChat account."

His achievement was overshadowed by the fact that the article was written under false pretences: it begins with an introduction of the supposed author, one John Landers, who's described as a Harvard professor emeritus and "seasoned US international strategist," according to SCMP.

Landers is also "a scholar with a sense of justice" as well as the son of a former member of the 'US Productivity Commission,' which – like Landers himself – doesn't actually exist.

The article is a response to a recent racheting-up of US-China trade tensions, including Trump's decision this past weekend to impose 25 percent tariffs on USD50 billion of Chinese products. The WeChat piece cites recent statements by the US President on China, as well as "suggestions [for China] on how to deal with [Trump's moves] from the perspective of a Western scholar.”

But as it turns out, Trump's 'quotes' are also fake, according to Sohu News. No statements released by the White House this past month match up with the 'translated' Chinese excerpts provided in the article.

The person suspected of actually having written the post, Zhang Meng of the Harbin Institute of Technology's Shenzhen campus, told SCMP that “The readers should try to understand the argument, rather than spending time verifying who the professor is, or who drafted the WeChat blog."

Those arguments include, among other things, that "President Trump is the smartest Western leader, who are the best at negotiations..." and that China shouldn't make the mistake of underestimating him.

In one odd metaphor, 'Landers' also uses differing beauty standards to make a point about how China may be swayed too easily by Trump.

To give an example, David has big eyes and Max has double eyelids. Max says: David, you don’t have double eyelids, so you’re not beautiful. To prove he’s handsome, David should reply:
A) Double eyelids aren’t necessarily beautiful;
B) Only big eyes are beautiful, and you not only don’t have them, but your double eyelids are also surgically created
Obviously, in the simplified problem, we all know to choose B but in reality, we often directly respond with choice A. If David chooses A, David will fall into Max's line of thinking.

While the point is debatable, the author's line of thinking was apparently enough to sway thousands of China's Trump-watchers, if only briefly.

[Cover image via Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia]