When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
However over the past year after the president was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering 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 refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved information. US courts have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
