As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
However over the past year after the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without equivalent degrees of force.
But since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. He resided in the US for several years, having fled China due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East now as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
