When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
But in the year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models 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 shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. The deals have made some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that is 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 its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
