As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not only considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
However in the year after the president returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in the US for several years, having fled China due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
