As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize the government … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
But in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, 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 China decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.
But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He has lived in the US since 2019, having fled China due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities announced it will take an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that is impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
