As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
But in the year since the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed 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 rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.
But since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America since 2019, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it would become an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved information. US courts have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
