As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, 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 stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly content where I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
However over the past year since the president was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to events in China decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of force.
However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China today as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more 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 capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
