As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she's not only thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.
But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics 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 as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled China due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East today as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities announced it would become an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
