As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly material where I openly disparage the government … I think this is a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
However over the past year since the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
However after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He resided in America since 2019, having fled China due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “America isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
