As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into the city's public library.
But in the year since the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears reflect an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in America 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 societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
But after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China due to harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in the East today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “The US is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear 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 frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
