As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
But over the past year since the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
However since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself 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 pressure 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 lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “The US is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
