When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.
But over the past year since the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy 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 recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
However since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng has lived in America for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others 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 was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics 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 constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
