When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share content where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
However in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of force.
But since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in America for several years, having fled the country because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have made some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved information. US courts have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
