As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I openly disparage the government … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.
However in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though absent the same levels of violence.
However after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “America isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, 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 seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling 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 required reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
