As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publish openly content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.
However over the past year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of force.
However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is 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 type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to national security. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
