As the United States grapples with the upheaval unleashed by the Trump administration, many Chinese people are finding they can relate to what many Americans are going through. They are saying it feels something like the Cultural Revolution, the period known as “the decade of turmoil.” They are also expressing their alarm in interviews, articles, and social media comments that range from disappointment and anger to sardonic.
For these Chinese, who strive for democratic values but contend with an authoritarian state, their role model is tearing itself apart. They are witnessing things they thought could happen only in China: sycophantic official announcements, intimidation of the media, and top entrepreneurs vying for favor from the leadership, not to mention a president who calls himself a king.
The official Weibo account of the U.S. Embassy in China, which has 3.5 million followers, used to be a platform for the U.S. government to spread American values and reliable information. Chinese who share those values would sometimes use the comment sections of the account to vent about their own government. But recent posts have been flooded with angry comments from Chinese users expressing disappointment.
They are saying that the United States is tearing itself apart like the Communist Party did at the peak of the Cultural Revolution. They are telling me that the language used by government agencies is like Chinese Communist Party propaganda.
The characteristics of authoritarian leaders, such as surrounding themselves with loyalists and trying to control the media, are not unique to China. Mao promoted a semiliterate peasant to the office of vice premier and a low-level cadre at a textile mill to be his deputy at the age of 38. Xi Jinping has surrounded himself with loyalists, many of whom did not go to elite Chinese universities.
For many Chinese, the chaos in Washington is driven by a familiar impulse. They are saying that the only way to dismantle America’s “deep state” is through a “Cultural Revolution.” They are also expressing their alarm at how fast Mr. Trump is building a cult of personality, with a focus on himself and his own interests. They are saying that the language used by government agencies is like Chinese Communist Party propaganda.
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