As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
However in the year after the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
However after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His pile on came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
