As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize the government … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
However in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.
But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping the country due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China today as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have left some investors concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
