When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of force.
But since the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it would become an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
