As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize the government … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though without equivalent degrees of force.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He has lived in America for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it will take an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
