When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
However in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without the same levels of violence.
However after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. He has lived in America for several years, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government 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 the United States, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that is impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
