When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize the government … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
However in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. 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, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of force.
However since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in the US since 2019, having fled the country because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
