When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
But in the year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without the same levels of force.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”
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 frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
