As Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
But in the year after the president was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of force.
However since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in the US for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in the East now as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump 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 news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
