When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly material in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
But in the year after the president was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without equivalent degrees of force.
But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “America is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
