As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
But over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.
However after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China today as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
