As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.
However over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East today as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it will take an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
