When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share content where I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
However after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in the US since 2019, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East now as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “America isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
