As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
However over the past year since Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. However, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
