As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.
But in the year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without the same levels of force.
However after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in America for several years, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences 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 they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
