As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
But in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without the same levels of force.
However since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping China because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
