As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
However over the past year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent the same levels of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “America isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. These moves have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
