As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
But over the past year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of violence.
However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, after escaping China because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
