When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
But in the year after the president was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in America for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives 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 America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
