When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
But over the past year after the president was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, having fled the country because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it will take an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
