As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
But over the past year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president 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 bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
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 US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent the same levels of force.
However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. However, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad