When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
But in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, 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 who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
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”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to events in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of force.
However since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State 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 form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established 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 more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
