As the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material where I openly disparage the government … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.
But over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, find eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though without the same levels of violence.
But after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came from online peers, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as well,” she added, 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, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “America isn't a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and 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 official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
