As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
But over the past year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with China may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.
However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, after escaping the country due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
