As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
However over the past year since the president was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, 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 the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in China now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him 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 some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for national security. The deals have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
