As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's public library.
But in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of violence.
However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in the US for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring also has parallels with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “America isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
