As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material where I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived 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 “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's public library.
However in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined 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, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China now as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
