As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly content in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.
However in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in America for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East today as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report 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 CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
