As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But in the year since the president was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “America isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars 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 private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
