As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
However in the year since the president was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of violence.
However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. He has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “America is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. These moves have made some investors nervous that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
