As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
However in the year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in America since 2019, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in China now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. These moves have made some investors concerned 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 the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
