When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
But in the year since the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent the same levels of force.
But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, having fled the country because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East today as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “The US isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
