As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
However in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, find eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems that America is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
But since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on originated from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, 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 more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
