When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not only considering what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material where I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
However in the year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is 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, albeit without the same levels of force.
However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled China due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East today as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive 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 correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, 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 all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
