As Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about which jokes to tell. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly content in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
But in the year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in America for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His pile on originated from online peers, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
