When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
However in the year after the president was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America since 2019, after escaping China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “America is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
