When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
But over the past year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns mirror a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though absent the same levels of force.
However since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in America since 2019, having fled the country because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it will take an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
