As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to tell. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
However in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears reflect a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with China may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
But after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in America for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities announced it would become an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, 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 adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
