When the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content where I openly disparage the government … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
But over the past year after the president was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
But after the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, having fled the country because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China now as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “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 less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. 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 in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
