As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize the government … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.
However in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, after escaping China due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East now as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US 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 declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
