When the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes her platform in New York, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of force.
However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in the US for several years, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East today as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
