As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.
However over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president 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 temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens 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 as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of force.
But since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East today as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“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, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
