When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not only considering what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.
However in the year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US for several years, having fled the country because of harassment from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His pile on came from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “America isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America 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 more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
