Many Chinese citizens are drawing disturbing parallels between Donald Trump’s administration and China’s Cultural Revolution. That was a time of tremendous repression and political unrest. This reflection comes as the United States grapples with increasing polarization and a crackdown on free speech, prompting concerns among individuals who have experienced authoritarian regimes.
Wang, a 39-year-old Chinese woman, feels as if she is living a parallel life to most of those back in her home country. Perhaps most disturbingly, she worries that grassroots movements threatening elite power are gaining strength in Trump’s America. This is similar to the tactics used during the Cultural Revolution a half-century ago. This unprecedented mobilization strategy resonates deeply with anyone attuned to the historical countercurrents of domination and revolt in China.
The increasing crackdown on free speech is the most shocking parallel between Trump’s America and China. Many observers note that the atmosphere in the United States has shifted significantly since Trump’s election for a second term. Vickie Wang, a budding standup comedian, has sensed a “palpable change” in the cultural climate, stating that she would never publicly publish anything critical of the government.
“I would never publicly publish something where I directly criticize the government … I think it’s a learned behaviour from China.” – Vickie Wang
Zhang Qianfan, a constitutional law professor at Peking University, has commented on this alarming trend, observing that America’s global image has declined across the board. He cites as evidence the ever closer norms of autocratic style governance that emerge from both countries.
“The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.” – Zhang Qianfan
In Zhang’s analysis, that erosion of civil liberties is happening faster and in more dangerous ways than we thought. He notes, for example, that Chinese intellectuals were aghast that so many US universities knuckled under pressure from the government to change their free speech and diversity practices. In comparison, since Chinese institutions have always been state-owned, such measures are business as usual there.
Deng Haiyan, a former Chaozhou police officer and critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), can hardly believe what he sees going on in the United States. They have the potential to be as tragic and dysfunctional as what he’d seen in China. “I never thought that something like this could happen in such a democratic country,” he then proclaimed.
“I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country.” – Deng Haiyan
Furthermore, the Trump administration’s initiatives to acquire stakes in US companies have drawn comparisons to China’s blurred lines between government and private industry. This is a concern that strikes many of us as dangerous, anti-democratic practices can chip away at core tenets of democracy.
Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University, pointed to emerging trends in the US. These trends mirror behaviors we would expect to see in much more authoritarian regimes. She indicated that citizens are beginning to take precautionary measures about public discourse, which was previously confined to countries ruled by authoritarianism.
“In terms of going after those who disagree with you and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here.” – Maria Repnikova
For all these disconcerting parallels, many experts are reluctant to make direct comparisons between the two political systems. Isaac Stone Fish, founder of Strategy Risks, emphasized that while America’s image may be declining, it still retains freedoms far superior to those under Xi Jinping’s regime in China.
“The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.” – Isaac Stone Fish
Zhang Qianfan’s view points to a bigger, long-term, and deeper cultural — if not civilizational — revolution within America itself. Here’s what he wrote about this downslide in views of the U.S. as a global leader in constitutional democracy. This is a big shift that’s taken place since Trump’s ascendance.
“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer.” – Zhang Qianfan
Perhaps the most conspicuous among Chinese liberals is a radically altered disposition. Now, they consider their own political system relatively inoffensive compared to what they perceive happening in America. This deep strain of disillusionment highlights a larger trend where criticism of one’s own government grows complex when compared outwards.