As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
But after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came from online peers, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “America is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain 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 demanded they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
