As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.
However in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of force.
However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing 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 – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China now as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear 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 frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad