As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though without equivalent degrees of force.
However after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He resided in America for several years, having fled the country because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing 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, appear in decline.”
The government's purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
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 Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
