As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
However over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, having fled the country because of pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge 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 could happen in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came 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,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East today as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for national security. These moves have made some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
