As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
However in the year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing 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 to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of force.
However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for national security. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
