When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
However over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if America is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.
But since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East now as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “America isn't a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
