As the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
But over the past year after the president was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her fears reflect a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of force.
However after the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in America since 2019, having fled the country because of pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
