When the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.
But after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, having fled the country due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. 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. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
