When the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
But over the past year after the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues 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 well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
