When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” 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 believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
However in the year since the president was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people 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 America, albeit absent the same levels of force.
But since the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China today as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “America isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
