When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not only thinking about which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
However over the past year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of force.
But since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping the country due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
