As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
However in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror 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 president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.
But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies 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 government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
