When the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.
However over the past year since the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without the same levels of force.
But since the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America for several years, having fled China because of pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on originated from online peers, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted 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 domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “America is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
