As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly content where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
But over the past year since the president was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America for several years, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing 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 in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
