As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not just thinking about which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
But over the past year since the president was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, 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 young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of force.
However after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping the country due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East now as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, 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 more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
