As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
However over the past year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
However after the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that America 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, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
