As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
But in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
