When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize the government … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived 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 talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
However in the year since the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without equivalent degrees of force.
However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng has lived in America for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, 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 – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China today as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it would become an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved information. US courts have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
