When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
However over the past year since the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, find disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping China due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “America is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it would become an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
