As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not just considering what humor to tell. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
However in the year since the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have made some investors nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
