As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
But over the past year since Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in America since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
