As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content in which I directly criticize the government … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with China could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called 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 rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
But after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping China due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in China today as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it will take an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
