When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
But in the year after the president was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, find eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
However after the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, 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, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. The deals have made some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
