humandog
Newbie
- Sep 13, 2019
- 8
- 2
I do respect China, its culture, the people and so on, but I think its going in a very weird direction.
Having the "great firewall" and blocking Facebook, YouTube etc. even Tinder is no news, but now removing Mastercard, Visa, don't let foreigner use Wechatpay or Alipay probably?
You see in what direction it is going? Not in a good one, not an open one.
And right now I came across something super crazy. I checked into a Airbnb and the only way I can open the apartment door is by uploading my passport picture into a third party app and everytime I want to open the door I need to scan a QR code and take a picture of my face. Wtf?! So basically this 3rd party company now got all my data (passport, face recognition etc.), they exactly know when I am inside the apartment and so on. This is absolutely crazy
The thing is most Chinese people are okay with it. Data shows that they prefer safety over privacy ("If you don't have anything to hide...," they say). Systems like the social credit score, which are completely dystopian, are actually embraced. From what I've read it all comes from generations of inequality. The feeling of "I have to do whatever it takes to come out ahead" has led to people being suspicious of each other. Since the social credit system was built to "enhance trust", they don't actually mind not being able to fly or travel by high-speed train if they aren't exemplary citizens (or what the CCP understands as an exemplary citizen).
If in some areas of China you actually get punished (as in you get a lower social credit score) if you play too much videogames, or buy things that the government considers "superfluous". The funny part is that in some places where the social credit score is in place, the system is actually subcontracted to Alibaba (although it has more to do with credit information and whatnot).
If its citizens are under such surveillance (not to speak about the millions of cameras, but not like that doesn't happen in cities like London), it seems like no surprise that foreigners are as well.
Despite everything, it's actually a fascinating case. I just hope it doesn't come to the west any time soon.