As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not just considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce 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 the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
But after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East today as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
