As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost 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 democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of force.
However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in the US for several years, having fled China due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
