As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content where I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
However over the past year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without the same levels of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on came from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East today as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing 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 government's purchase of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
