When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
But over the past year since the president was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US since 2019, after escaping the country because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon 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, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, 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 other companies it considers vital to national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
