When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material in which I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
However in the year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation 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 absent the same levels of violence.
However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “America is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. These moves have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
