As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
But over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in the US since 2019, after escaping the country due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
