As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly material where I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
But over the past year since the president was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects 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 brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America for several years, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant 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 such a thing would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’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 investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
