As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only considering what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
But over the past year since the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.
But since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China now as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made 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 Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
