When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking 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 authorities … I believe this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
However over the past year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping the country due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His pile on originated from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have left some investors nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
