As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
However in the year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
