As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize the government … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into the city's public library.
But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with China could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.
But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His pile on came from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously confined to 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 stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
