As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
However over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
