As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.
However over the past year after the president was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her fears reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
But after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in the US for several years, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting 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 an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. However, “America is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
