As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content where I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
But in the year after Donald Trump 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'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to national security. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
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 reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
