As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she's not only thinking about which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But in the year since the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, after escaping the country due to harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “America isn't a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
