As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into the city's public library.
However over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if America is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed 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 rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
However after the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China now as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to national security. These moves have made some investors nervous that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
