As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
However over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, find eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled China due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering 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 among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
