As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
But over the past year after the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
But since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His pile on came from online peers, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring also has parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “America isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
