When the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.
However in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of force.
But after the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from the authorities.
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 lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. 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, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “America is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
