When the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just considering what humor to tell. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.
But in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, having fled the country because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His pile on came from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
