As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
However over the past year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without equivalent degrees of force.
But since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping China because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China today as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US 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, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
