As the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
However over the past year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
However after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
