As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just thinking about what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content where I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
But in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though without equivalent degrees of force.
However after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, after escaping the country due to pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it will take an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
