As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly material where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
But over the past year since the president was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East today as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “America isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
