As the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
However over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent the same levels of force.
However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in China now as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it will take an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
