As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But over the past year since the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
But since the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
