As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publish openly content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into the city's public library.
However over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, authorities announced it would become an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
