As the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material where I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.
But in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech 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 China now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
