As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.
However over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, having fled the country because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, 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. However, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it would become an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
