As the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly content in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
But in the year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she added, adding 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 used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
