As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not only thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
However in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in America for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China now as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “America is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’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 developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
