As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
But since the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America for several years, having fled China due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China today as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
