As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of force.
However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China today as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
