As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not just considering what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
But over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent equivalent degrees of force.
However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in the US since 2019, having fled the country due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East now as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
