As Vickie Wang, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
However over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without the same levels of force.
But since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
