As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that America is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though absent the same levels of force.
However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping China due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have left some investors nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
