As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
However over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in China decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of violence.
But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
