As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes her platform in New York, she's not only thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.
However over the past year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping China because of pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
