When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content in which I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
But over the past year after the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without the same levels of force.
However after the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He resided in the US for several years, having fled China due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of 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.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His pile on originated from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in China now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, authorities announced it would become an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved information. US courts have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor 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 university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
