As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content where I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
But in the year since the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns mirror an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without the same levels of force.
But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled the country because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil 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 that you see in China now as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty 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 an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
