When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
