As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not only considering which jokes to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if 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 think it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
However in the year since the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of force.
However since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US since 2019, having fled the country because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved information. US courts have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
