As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
But in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different 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 being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of force.
But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China because of pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
