Exposing China's Digital Dystopian Dictatorship | Foreign Correspondent

Summary

The transcript outlines China's development of a high-tech surveillance state, integrating big data with monitoring to create a social credit system. With nearly 200 million cameras nationwide, the system tracks citizens' behaviors, rewarding 'good' actions and punishing 'bad' ones. Pilot programs are underway, with plans for full implementation by 2020. The system's impact is far-reaching, affecting travel, financial services, and social interactions. It disproportionately targets minority groups like the Uighurs in Xinjiang, where over a million are reportedly detained in 're-education camps.' The video underscores the chilling reality of digital totalitarianism, where algorithms dictate citizens' freedoms.

Takeaways

• 📈 China is developing a comprehensive surveillance system that includes cameras, spyware, and data collection to monitor citizens' behaviors.
• 🔍 The social credit system is a scoring mechanism designed to reward 'good' behavior and punish 'bad' behavior among China's 1.4 billion citizens.
• 🌐 China aims to be a global leader in AI-powered surveillance, integrating facial recognition, body scanning, and geo-tracking with personal data.
• 🏙️ Cities in China are heavily equipped with around 200 million cameras, which are becoming smarter and more integrated with surveillance systems.
• 👥 Tech companies like Alibaba are collaborating with the state to develop algorithms that calculate social credit scores using personal data.
• 👤 Individuals' scores are influenced by a wide range of factors including financial history, shopping habits, and even social connections.
• 💔 The social credit system can result in severe consequences for those with low scores, including restricted travel and social limitations.
• 🚫 The system is particularly oppressive in Xinjiang, where it's used to suppress the Uighur population, with reports of over a million people detained in camps.
• 👨‍👩‍👦 High social credit scores can provide privileges such as no-deposit car rentals and better access to services for individuals and their families.
• 📉 Those who are critical of the government or are deemed 'untrustworthy' can face severe penalties, including being blacklisted and effectively under house arrest.
• 🚨 There are serious concerns about the erosion of privacy, freedom of speech, and the potential for misuse of data within China's social credit system.

Q & A

What is the social credit system in China?

The social credit system in China is a digital monitoring and evaluation system that assigns scores to citizens based on their behavior, with rewards for good behavior and punishments for bad.

How does the social credit system use technology?

The system uses advanced technology like cameras, spyware, facial recognition, body scanning, and geo tracking to monitor citizens and collect data that contributes to their social credit scores.

What is the goal of implementing the social credit system?

The goal is to create a system where 'trustworthy' citizens can roam freely while making it difficult for those deemed 'discredited' to take a single step, essentially incentivizing good behavior and discouraging bad behavior.

What are the potential consequences of a low social credit score?

A low social credit score can lead to restrictions on travel, difficulty in obtaining loans, social stigma, and even potential blacklisting from certain services or opportunities.

How does the social credit system affect daily life for citizens like Dandan?

For citizens with high social credit scores, like Dandan, the system can provide benefits such as no deposit required for renting cars or houses. However, it also means that every action is tracked and judged.

How does the social credit system impact relationships and marriage?

The system can influence who people date and marry, as a partner's social credit score can affect one's own score, potentially leading to strategic choices in relationships.

What is the situation of the social credit system in Xinjiang?

In Xinjiang, the social credit system is more brutal and less nuanced, dividing citizens into three categories: trustworthy, average, and untrustworthy. The Uighur population often falls into the 'average' or 'untrustworthy' categories, facing severe restrictions and even detention.

How does the social credit system intersect with surveillance in Xinjiang?

Surveillance in Xinjiang is intense, with facial recognition technology and CCTV cameras used to monitor citizens constantly, feeding into the social credit system and contributing to the oppressive atmosphere.

What are the implications of the social credit system for freedom of speech and journalism?

The social credit system can suppress freedom of speech and journalism, as seen with the case of investigative journalist Leo, who was blacklisted and effectively silenced for his critical reporting.

How does the social credit system affect the perception of the Chinese government domestically and internationally?

Domestically, the system can create a culture of surveillance and self-censorship, while internationally it raises concerns about human rights and the potential for the export of such technology to other countries.

What is the ultimate vision for the social credit system by the Chinese government?

The ultimate vision is a fully operational system by 2020 that allows for the seamless integration of surveillance data with personal behavior to create a comprehensive control mechanism over citizens.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 China's Surveillance State

The script discusses China's extensive surveillance system, integrating big data and AI to monitor its citizens. It introduces the concept of a social credit system, which assigns scores to individuals based on their behavior. The system rewards good behavior and punishes bad, with the aim of creating a digital dictatorship. The video mentions the presence of around 200 million cameras in Chinese cities, which are becoming smarter with advancements in facial recognition and geo-tracking technologies. The script also highlights China's ambition to lead in AI surveillance technology and how tech giants like Alibaba are involved in developing algorithms for calculating social credit scores.

05:02

👤 The Impact on Individuals

This paragraph focuses on how the social credit system affects individual lives, using Dandan, a marketing professional, as an example. It explains how every action is tracked and judged, impacting one's social credit score. Dandan's score is influenced by her academic, medical records, and shopping habits. The script also mentions how her score could change in real-time based on her purchases. The video script also discusses the potential impact on her social life, including who she dates and marries, and how her husband's civil service role could further affect their family's social credit.

10:06

🚫 The Dark Side of Social Credit

The script introduces Leo, an investigative journalist who has experienced the negative side of the social credit system. After losing a defamation case, he was blacklisted, leading to severe restrictions on his freedom. The video describes how his social credit rating has effectively put him under house arrest, limiting his travel and ability to communicate through social media. The paragraph also touches on the broader implications of the social credit system, suggesting that it is being used as a tool for political control and censorship.

15:17

🏭 Xinjiang: The High-Tech Open Prison

The script shifts focus to Xinjiang, a region in China where the social credit system is implemented with extreme measures. It describes the region as a high-tech open prison, with heavy surveillance and control over the Uighur population. The video script mentions the use of facial recognition technology to monitor citizens and the division of people into categories of trustworthiness. It also discusses the destruction of the old town and the creation of a theme park for Chinese tourists, which is a stark contrast to the oppressive atmosphere experienced by the locals.

20:18

📉 The Brutal Reality of Social Credit in Xinjiang

This paragraph delves deeper into the harsh realities of the social credit system in Xinjiang. It describes how citizens are not given scores but are categorized into 'trustworthy,' 'average,' and 'untrustworthy.' The script highlights the severe crackdown on the Uighur population, with over a million reportedly detained in camps. The video script also shares the story of Tahir, a filmmaker who fled to the US, and how his family members were detained after his escape.

25:24

👨‍👩‍👦 The Future of Social Credit

The final paragraph of the script speculates on the future implications of the social credit system. It suggests that the system could lead to a digital totalitarian state where algorithms dictate people's fates. The video script uses the example of Dandan and her husband, who maintain high social credit scores to ensure their son's future. It ends with a warning about the potential loss of individual freedom and the rise of high-tech social engineering.

Keywords

💡Surveillance State

A surveillance state refers to a nation that subjects its citizens to pervasive and systematic monitoring by the government. In the context of the video, China is described as a surveillance state where citizens are monitored through cameras and spyware, mapping their digital footprints to every step they take.

💡Social Credit

Social Credit is a system in China that assigns a score to each citizen based on their behavior, rewarding good behavior and punishing bad. The video describes it as a 'personal scorecard' for citizens, which is not fully operational but is being trialed across the country.

💡Big Data

Big Data refers to the massive volume of structured and unstructured data that is so large it's difficult to process using traditional database management tools. In the video, big data is mentioned in relation to the surveillance state, where personal data and online behavior are used to calculate social credit scores.

💡Facial Recognition

Facial recognition is a technology that can identify or verify a person from a video frame or digital image. The video mentions that China is using facial recognition technology as part of its surveillance and social credit system to track individuals.

💡Geo Tracking

Geo tracking refers to the process of tracking the position of a device or person by means of GPS or other location-based technology. The video discusses how geo tracking is used in China to monitor citizens' movements as part of the social credit system.

💡Digital Dictatorship

Digital dictatorship implies a form of governance where technology is used to exert control over citizens. The video uses this term to describe China's approach to surveillance and social control through the use of technology and data.

💡Pilot Programs

Pilot programs are trial runs or tests of a new system or process. The video mentions pilot programs for the national social credit system, which are underway to test the system before it is fully implemented.

💡Blacklisting

Blacklisting is the act of placing someone on a list that restricts their access to certain rights or privileges. The video describes how individuals who are deemed dishonest can be blacklisted under the social credit system, leading to severe restrictions on their freedom.

💡Citizen Score

Citizen score refers to the numerical rating given to individuals under the social credit system. The video provides an example of a person with a high citizen score who enjoys privileges such as not having to pay a deposit when renting a car or a house.

💡High-Tech Social Engineering

High-tech social engineering refers to the use of advanced technology to manipulate and control societal behavior. The video discusses China's social credit system as an example of high-tech social engineering, where algorithms decide citizens' fates.

💡Xinjiang

Xinjiang is a province in China that has been the subject of controversy due to its heavy surveillance and treatment of ethnic minorities. The video describes Xinjiang as a place where the principles of social credit have been taken to brutal extremes, with mass detentions and severe restrictions on freedom.

Highlights

China is implementing a social credit system that monitors citizens' behaviors and assigns scores.

The social credit system is not fully operational but is being trialed across the country.

China has approximately 200 million surveillance cameras deployed in its cities.

Surveillance technology is being enhanced with AI capabilities such as facial recognition and geo tracking.

Tech companies like Alibaba are collaborating with the state to develop algorithms for the social credit score.

The social credit system aims to reward good behavior and punish bad behavior.

By 2020, the social credit system is expected to allow 'trustworthy' individuals to move freely while restricting 'discredited' ones.

Citizens' shopping habits, such as buying alcohol or diapers, can affect their social credit score.

High social credit scores can provide privileges like no deposit needed for renting cars or houses.

The social credit system's implementation varies across regions, with Xinjiang having a more extreme version.

In Xinjiang, the social credit system categorizes citizens into 'trustworthy', 'average', and 'untrustworthy'.

Uyghurs in Xinjiang are reportedly detained in 'education and training centers' if deemed 'untrustworthy'.

The UN has reported that over a million Uyghurs may be held in camps in Xinjiang due to their ethnicity.

Journalist Leo, who was blacklisted under the social credit system, has had his freedom of movement severely restricted.

The social credit system's impact extends to family members, affecting their opportunities and freedoms.

The social credit system is seen as a step towards a digital totalitarian state where algorithms dictate citizens' fates.

Transcripts

[Music]

China has long been a surveillance state

now Big Brother meets big data in trials

across the country cameras and spyware

are watching mapping your digital

footprint to every step you take what

you do say and even think is being

monitored and marked against you

the party calls it social credit a

personal scorecard for one point four

billion citizens rewards for good

behavior and punishments for bad it's

not fully operational yet but this

report will show you a vision of China's

dystopian future the world's first

digital dictatorship

China's cities are already flush with

cameras around 200 million of them

what's changing is they're getting

smarter

[Music]

China is positioning itself to lead the

world in artificial intelligence

surveillance technology is a key proving

ground facial recognition body scanning

and geo tracking matched with your

personal data and online behavior will

power the social credit system leaving

no dark corner to hide in

[Music]

at the world intelligence Congress in

Tanjung Big Brother's new toys are on

show several of the exhibitors here

including tech giant Alibaba are now

working with the state to write the

algorithms that will calculate your

social credit score they've already got

the know-how and the user data from

their financial credit system a leap a

manager of a leap a Tanjung is also

similar to using

[Music]

sounds dramatic but it's the party line

pilot programs for a national social

credit system are already underway by

2020 the official outline boasts it will

allow the trustworthy to roam freely

under heaven while making it hard for

the discredited to take a single step

Roger to modernity and I should say no

factual single agrarian so what your

jungle photons AHA require you to the

social URI - we - da fak raha easier

cinder is a digital short and Phaedra

the house enters I promotion for trend

funkier pnz fan Dandan is going places

very much the modern chinese woman she's

a marketing professional diligent and

prosperous and sees clear skies in her

digital future no I - sure don't freeze

things on all my thoughts alone -

finally John when you say one currency

yo-yo people Russia for instance usual

meets you and I tell you Tom for know

what you're a reverb Isola tackles you

not told identity sure can call them a

model citizen

Dandan will rate highly on social

credits better every action will be

tracked and judged is fine by her in

canto de la ago Farentino you go hello

Jacques way

Naru what gender quotas in that diary -

photo recovery team may cause a logical

Cermak oh come on she look at our Toyota

horizontal Judah which

I'm trained sir dan Dan's criminal

academic and medical records will feed

into her score as well as state security

assessments their shopping habits will

be another measure

the score could even change in real time

depending on what she puts in her

trolley

[Music]

by a lot of alcohol suggests dependence

lose a couple of points by a pack of

nappies gain a few suggests

responsibility

late on mortgage payments or your tax

return lose a lot more not that Dan Dan

would risk that she keeps a close eye on

her financial rating via a mobile

payment app so this is sesame credit

right so what's the score that you have

to versus and so industry 773 so what's

the maximum you can get thank you so 800

so you got a pretty good score oh wow I

think I'm doing well not the best but uh

yeah if I were on top

7/7 right so what kind of access or what

kind of privileges does that give you

this is like full rent cars I don't have

to pay deposit so you don't have to pay

a deposit yeah yeah and this is also for

a hotel and also no deposit for renting

a house

China's middle class is on the rise

like dan dan they're mostly young urban

and used to living much of their lives

online and which don't

see the change from Russia which I sure

don't see how come cause out the

function of our church you don't have so

you go Jerusalem your the suit of

challenge you to tell you from you see

see see

[Music]

who you date and ultimately partner with

will also affect your Social Credit dan

dan married for love but she also chose

the right husband Jiang Xiao Jing score

is likely to be even higher than hers

Xiao Jing is a civil servant with the

Justice Department a loyal cadre of the

party weight off for the $2 wah - bah -

joyfully she said only you gonna go she

won't tell any woman does a labor union

a guy's shoe untied Edison the ECM to

fly no fubá

the hotel amigo for you there girl was

sure do sound insidious water leaguer

woman lingo tada this foods have been

true when mean cliche they need to

attach it to the you girly girl without

a father she walk - woman children was a

minute

[Music]

[Music]

on current chicken chocolate eager to me

mother Saddam can pay mom to be on TV

Roger art OH so these are your own

mashaallah I mean she's your conversions

you know consider Joe transgender even

she wanted a girl can't you leave me

I've come to Chongqing City a high-tech

metropolis in central China where the

jailing River meets the Yangtze I'm here

to meet one of the ten million people

who've seen the dark side at the Social

Credit System investigative journalist

Leo who with the street smart hands-on

approach who has exposed high-level

corruption and solved murder cases

abandoned by the police in many

countries he'd be celebrated not in

China when to the hundred zone for boa

tarde en banc woman contingent it has

seized Rajendra Gigi tag creation coming

like koala internship I posted sure

she's not actually the audio tension

yeah sure UN should tune out she peed

with her number one we talked and talked

for ten tippet half what a shitty one

[Music]

in 2015 who lost a defamation case after

he accused an official of extortion he

was made to publish an apology and pay a

fine but when the court demanded an

additional fee who refused then in 2017

he found himself suddenly locked out of

society under a pilot Social Credit

Scheme he'd been blacklisted as

dishonest we'll each year

Lucia panel you know she had one final

time and oh god woman so she may change

here

WOB or change here what opponent go

advise women then who maintains he has

fully met the terms of his 2015 case he

believes his blacklisting is political

but he has no way of challenging it's my

man combat diva sure hand or troll Derby

now when the machine was on there

then come here I bet all his poor social

credit rating has shut down his travel

options and confined him to effective

house arrest in Chongqing where she

didn't pay sent the digger so you're not

tweeting now to say think our cultiva

fidget up pissing

volcanion season my own take official I

think he'll send a sure woman don't

remember seein my teens empower teens

hours to quality and appearance what

what is it jihad attention think of

sabacc

sure what you can be 5 years he fashions

the god of it sends a Chandra seeds at

all each her whose social media accounts

have also been closed before his arrest

he had nearly 2 million followers

it's where he published much of his

journalism or tungee agua how do you

ever should he go

today we both housing a dummy Ola

recently you gotta take a pay phone

there you guys you

you know Stiglitz ago - may Allah whose

grapes by writing for an online

publication his investigative reports

are on hold

it's not his first run-in with

censorship in August 2013 he was

detained without trial after exposing as

senior party members links with a legal

prostitution this is a recreation based

on whose accounts over the course of a

year he was interrogated more than 70

times to draw yagh on paper you will pay

her he don't you troll and you need to

go come join me Allah you love her hands

even in powder

who refused to confess and was

eventually released now he's trapped

again the four walls of a cell replaced

by social credits dragnets

Tinchy reliant engineer who initially am

I gonna meet your hunger Shapira and

Darla may franca Tundra new defy him

take her home yellow welcome to Valhalla

was sent to bother Jesus realized what

she wants assume as she wanted to drink

when I'm told you've nothing different

I always say she walked in she has a

crush go I know what she had room

I'm going to a place where the

principles of Social Credit have been

taken to brutal extremes the party

doesn't want the world to know about it

reporting on the situation is risky to

get there we must fly 4000 kilometers

from Beijing to the western edge of

China shinjang nation's largest province

and according to some the world's

largest open prison

Shin Jung is the homeland of the Weir's

Turkic people of Islamic faith

China's rulers have struggled to control

the region and its people for two

millennia surveillance technology is the

new weapon in their campaign

ooh Nazareth systems here

scheming Unal tangela chilaka gander

Shinoda kyun visible in could pop move

on on La Palma on each condoms Aloka

Teddy Department Christie system elder

knows our system leader a cotton pad

alder tahi hummert is a wig a filmmaker

and poet from the shinjang city of

kashgar he can talk about the situation

there because he managed to escape with

his family to the US where they've

applied for political asylum he made the

decision to flee last year passion joy

was crack this is such a punk didn't

kill phone call there

Castaneda bull dude that was so spunky

to coddle socks Punk Toba van de Kamp's

never suspect Nikki harassed a vast

accurate and we are asked to you added a

surah kun javi mindish coladas angela is

served up alcohol laws were adopted one

at NIH Ilana pull the ball decrepit

repeal saw Raquel van Owen Lattimore or

Indaba HT a card up Greg and he can come

in and be at the Brigham but Adam bar

I'm not alone again bérenger padam de

busines was ignorant can childish

colonic a a con out chicken jerk Adam de

Abbas don't I was not out there and

change basta AB sneaky Varma cosmos not

aldia

Dimmick Puna to probe Anakin Anakin to

attend Jack Adam de a business my

business erratically presentable

red carpet crime is her a poodle Cara

and the King anga

white film s saga unified LMS Stiga I

dreamers Oscar ah

tah he and his wife were being scanned

by facial recognition software their

faces mapped from all angles to enhance

accuracy they were even forced to

produce a range of facial expressions

meaning Jam the bull control system sir

reverb lava initially called Cortana -

sistema kinky / director director this

assalam alayka satin Ranbir maleta

melamed in yet as she's here cut Nakia /

in gymnast inaudible

[Applause]

inside Koshka it's almost impossible to

report independently government

officials do their best to conceal any

sign of the oppression Tahir describes

look closer and the cracks appear the

party approved vision of this city is a

facade cash cars historic old town has

been demolished in just one section

rebuilt as a sort of Weger theme park

for Chinese tourists you can buy

souvenirs try the local cuisine and even

see a show but this tension in the air

the locals can't speak with us armed

guards and cameras keep a watchful eye

and Chinese flags claim the rooftops

even the Dome of the mosque

so it's quite difficult to film here

we've got about six mine is with this

the whole time they're telling us what

we can film what we can't do sometimes

they delete now material on top of that

we've got about another eight to ten

security guards that further restricted

our movements what I can tell you from

the car is that though they've set up a

kind of grid like management system and

every hundred meters or so you see a

police station and they're aided with

enormous amounts of CCTV cameras with

facial recognition to really have a

total control here what is clear is that

there is quite a brutal repressive

crackdown going on here and technology

is at the center of it Shin Jung's take

on Social Credit is simple and ruthless

citizens here are not given a score

instead they're divided into just three

categories trustworthy average

untrustworthy if you're han chinese

you're deemed trustworthy and granted

freedom of movement but if you're Weger

your average with restrictions imposed

on travel and religious practices if

you're a weak a male who breaks those

restrictions you're marked as

untrustworthy and detained in what the

party calls education and training

centres taki Hamid has another name for

them Yanni I shall release la ganancia

de night at our butter muy tarde para

Jai de narbon our toe pad ambulatory

door lock and units at labs yeah see you

in school adore anon Lincoln Aaron

Tomica shahanshah true machine kind of

kyun I know Deacon and the Polish

laggard and neuron Adam ki saludo Anan

ikan at will kill Akita dog and a neck

shoulder near shoe giant our tip is

unless kibosh LaVon

in August this year the UN announced it

had seen credible reports that over a

million wiggers are currently held

without charge in camps in Xinjiang

purely because of their ethnicity the

Chinese government rejects the claim

insisting it only detains convicted

terrorists Taha'a personal experience

tells a different story when Shin Jung

authorities discovered he'd fled to

America his brother and two

brothers-in-law disappeared in a mess

foolish lager data packet olynyk I'll

talk about trauma Stan il Dre a yak

Iolani busines called rooms blend

allah-allah Schmid's was making a mess

Alec Leamas Bastille from cassava Ludo

licking Bastille from Caesarea la la la

casa salad are available Udo linoleum

some password pod room is near zero star

back in Chongqing journalist Leo who

worries for his family too he's

blacklisting on social credit has cast a

shadow on those closest to him

Josh Sheehan who is an old journalists

calling units are moving with the

emergence of a new framing that what you

couldn't connect a function so without

the end to even a chance or just use an

even pump a lot of image from the paper

Chen Yin their ecology position is

initial so contingencies from centers on

the agency don't you tell what can you

pretend someone like takia who is

risking the welfare of his friends and

family to alert the world to China's

experiment in high-tech social

engineering he says people don't fully

comprehend what's to come a digital

totalitarian state with algorithms

decide your fate and nothing can be

questioned

I look at a father figure shoe

considered a total Shoob it arts for the

a woman tomorrow

Yoshi she found you thought the chant is

unfortunate so on to be sure sure sure

talk outside on campus to imagine Karima

teacher country I should mother how are

you sure woman should do that

I was a little washer uncle

so for that you go go exam no go so long

without behind yo what I said I'm sure

for you go since Amanda synchondrosis

enough control - it's you

yeah these are know how to tell you

create film case in this room what is

your daughter doing our fan

Dandan and husband's Xiao Jing's high

social credit and give their son Reba a

running start the provisions and

protections of the party will be

bestowed upon him so long as mum and dad

keep their credit up yeah what's your

the part that really mean to hold open

super sure it's enchanted metaphor she

says anything from that nighlok don't

you Chung sure down then you go out

trying to make sure that y'all had a dog

or join my men she about her become how

sahaja wash away knowledge a girl

worshipping Hong Kong harder when she

wanted a sincere ginger on the gate I

doubt that a controller show you

[Music]

you