When the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.
However in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in America for several years, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring also has parallels with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “America is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
