As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
But in the year since the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US 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 disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with China may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in America since 2019, after escaping China due to harassment from officials.
In September, 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 about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
