As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the masses to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “America isn't a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
