When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly material where I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
However over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new climate in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of force.
However since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “America isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment 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 purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
