When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.
But over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope 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 shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation 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 force.
But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America since 2019, having fled China due to harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it will take an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed 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
