As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
However over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, find eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.
However after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng has lived in America since 2019, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
