As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
However in the year since the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family 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 such a thing could happen in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than 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 … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling 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 required reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
