As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not just considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.
However in the year after the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of force.
However after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, after escaping the country due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on originated from online peers, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
