As the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content where I directly criticize the government … I think it's a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects 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 temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in America since 2019, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East now as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
