When the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
However over the past year since the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here 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 the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, after escaping the country because of harassment from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US 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. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
