As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
But over the past year since the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, 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.
But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He has lived in the US for several years, having fled the country because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved information. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
