When the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
However in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns mirror a new climate in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with China could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of force.
However after the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled the country because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved information. US courts have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, 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.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
