As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers 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 publish openly material where I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
However in the year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
But since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in America for several years, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. 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 beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
