As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not just considering what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
However over the past year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, after escaping the country due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved news. US courts have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
