What does the US presidential election mean for Americans and people around the world? 

Vientiane Times asked members of the public how the election result will impact their lives and what foreign policies they want to see under the new administration, particularly with regard to Southeast Asian nations. 

Mr Gregg Nettesheim from the University of Wisconsin: Obviously it's a very important election. For me, the choice is clear. I'm going to vote for Clinton. She has more progressive values and generally cares for the American people. Neither of them have talked much about Southeast Asia. They prefer to talk about the Trans-pacific trade agreement. But what I want to see is closer economic relations with Southeast Asian countries given that it [Southeast Asia] is a very important part of the world. I also want to forge closer ties between this university [Wisconsin University] and their universities [Southeast Asian countries] by bringing more of their students here and sending our students to their universities. I have never visited Laos. Of course, I was a young man during the Vietnam War. We bombed Laos which was a terrible thing to do. Since then, we have welcomed a lot of Lao students, especially Hmong, to our university. 

Lao Hmong native, Ms Kee Vue: I've lived in Wisconsin for over 20 years. My parents brought me here from Xieng Khuang province. We worked and saved money to start this business � a shop selling goods imported from Asian countries. I don't have detailed information about how the election is going to impact us. But what I want to see is the new administration follow the policies that Obama has made. 

I think the number of Hmong people here is high, particularly in Wisconsin and Minnesota too. We hold a lot of soccer tournaments and Hmong New Year events. They are big events. Many people come to them including our American friends and families and that's why the Hmong population is well known here. Many Hmong people in the US run businesses. Some go to school to get an education and work as doctors, teachers and in other jobs. I have visited Laos twice since I left to come to the US. I still have relatives there. I send a lot of money to help them but when I send the money they spend it all. They don't know what to do with the money in a way that is beneficial to their lives in the long term. My parents were born in Laos but I was born in Thailand. But I consider Laos as my home too. Laos is the country where I was originally from and I am proud of it. I have visited Laos many times and support the people there.

Managing Editor of Capital Times, Mr Chris Murphy: US news media reports on the presidential candidates and their foreign policy approaches are heavily focused on immigration to the US, terrorism and the Middle East. There has been little coverage about what the election results will mean for many other parts of the world, including Southeast Asia. That's unfortunate but not surprising � Americans in general understand too little about how the rest of the world affects us and also the enormous impact that our policies have on other countries. Here in Madison, a large number of foreign students and faculty at the University of Wisconsin probably give us, collectively, a little more global awareness than the rest of Wisconsin. In addition, the city has a significant number of Hmong residents who came from Laos following the Vietnam War. But even though many Madisonians know how the war led to the immigration of many Lao people, I think few are aware of what modern day Laos is like, or even how the aftermath of our bombing of the country continues to harm its people. 

Ms Terry Henning, working as an art designer: I went to Malaysia and Thailand in 1995, but unfortunately I was not able to visit Laos. Yes, I will learn about your country and plan to visit it. My son is living in China. In fact, I am very impressed with Asian arts and design. I'm very interested in the election. As a woman, I support Hillary Clinton. She is much more educated and has a broader world view than Trump. Regarding what I want to see after the election, I'm not interested in putting more money into our military and I would like to cut back our ground forces. I want the government to form economic partnerships with countries around the world. 

Mr Jim Helmke from Florida: I came to Wisconsin to make beer for a living and teach people how to make beer. I think that the US election is a historic event. I like Clinton. I think her foreign policy is quite safe. She has a much more balanced view of the way that a superpower like the United States should behave. I've been to several countries in Asia including China, Vietnam and Japan. I've not yet visited Laos. But I think many people in Wisconsin increasingly know about Laos after President Obama visited your country in September this year. Another significant thing to note is that a major ethnic group in Wisconsin is the Hmong. They have restaurants down there, serving Lao food. My message to the new president is � I think the United States has to be respectful and understand other countries on their terms. The US has great power and interests but we have to understand � really in many cases, people in government did not understand Iraq and the Middle East and I'm also not sure whether they really understand South East Asia.