When the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just considering what humor to tell. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
But over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect a new climate in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens 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 from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East today as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, authorities announced it would become an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have left some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
