When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
But in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce 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 could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China now as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “America isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, 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 somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
