As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.
But over the past year after the president was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, 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 country, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping China due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities announced it would become an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
