As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share 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 nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
However in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of force.
However after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He has lived in America since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities announced it will take an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
