As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
However over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of force.
But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China now as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something 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 could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
