When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
However over the past year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in the US since 2019, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from online peers, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
