When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, find eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. He has lived in America for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His pile on came from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … 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 Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it will take an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
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 they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
