When the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
But in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of force.
However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. US courts have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
