As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly material where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
However in the year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying 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 the US, albeit without the same levels of force.
But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America since 2019, having fled the country due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
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 campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
