As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.
However in the year since Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
But after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East now as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US 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 worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
