As the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering which jokes to deliver. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content where I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.
However over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her fears reflect an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of force.
But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels 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, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in the US for several years, having fled the country because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
