As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share material in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of violence.
But since the upheaval 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 recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled China due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His pile on originated from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“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. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
