As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.
But in the year after the president returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.
But after the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash came from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's purchase of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities announced it will take an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
