As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
But in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, find eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, 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 mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which variously seems recognizable 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.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping the country due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East now as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained 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, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to national security. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
