As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about which jokes to tell. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.
However over the past year since Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in the US since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “America isn't a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
