As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering which jokes to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.
But in the year since the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.
However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, having fled China due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved information. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
