When the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
However over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
But since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “America isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign 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 would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
