When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's public library.
However over the past year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, find disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America since 2019, after escaping the country because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East today as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
