As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly material where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
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 dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of force.
However after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came 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 open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, 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 shocked to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
