As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
However in the year after the president was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, find eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers 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 cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of force.
But after the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in America since 2019, having fled the country because of pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US 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, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
