As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
However over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of violence.
But after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance bears similarities 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 here,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “America isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
