When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
But over the past year since the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America for several years, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from online peers, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, 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 appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, authorities announced it would become an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
