As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I openly disparage the government … I think this is a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.
However in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America for several years, after escaping China because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East today as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained 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, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have made some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
