When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly content in which I openly disparage the government … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
However over the past year after the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of force.
But after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He resided in the US since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
