As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
However over the past year since the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems that America is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of violence.
However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in America for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
