When the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
However in the year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” 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 America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without the same levels of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in America since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His pile on came from online peers, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, 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, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that is impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
