As Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes her platform in New York, she's not just considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of violence.
However after the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in America for several years, after escaping China due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
