As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's public library.
However in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America for several years, after escaping the country because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring also has parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved information. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
