As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I think this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
But after the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
