As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a habit from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
However in the year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
However after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He has lived in the US since 2019, having fled the country due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “America isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved information. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
