As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
However over the past year since the president 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 a new climate in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of force.
However since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled the country because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East now as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face 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.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
