When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content where I directly criticize the government … I think it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.
However in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of force.
But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in the East today as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
