When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
However over the past year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of force.
However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in the US since 2019, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
