When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities announced it would become an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
