As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
However over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with China may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent the same levels of force.
However after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in America for several years, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on originated from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East today as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it would become an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
