As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
But over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
But after the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He resided in America for several years, having fled China due to harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage 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 an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
