As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America for several years, after escaping China because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is entering a new era of government meddling 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 defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
