As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about which jokes to tell. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
However over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of force.
However after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in the East now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, 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 sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain 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 they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
