As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
However over the past year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways 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 CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in America since 2019, having fled China due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “America is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
