As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not just thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
However in the year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
