As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
However over the past year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, 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 mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – 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 bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
