As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
However over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in America for several years, after escaping the country because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His pile on originated from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it would become 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 the US is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
