As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
However in the year since the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without the same levels of violence.
However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. 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 am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
