As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
But in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears 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, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions 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 the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent equivalent degrees of force.
But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, having fled China due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “The US is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
