Thursday, August 16, 2007
Welcome to Shenzen
China Enacting a High-Tech Plan to Track People - New York Times
The City of Shenzen near Hong Kong in southern China is a fast growing manufacturing center with a population of almost 13 million people. Shenzen is also a laboratory for the latest in urban surveillance technology. According to the New York Times, a new generation of surveillance software and digital ID cards are being introduced in Shenzen. These identity cards will contain chips that not only carry a lot of information but also allow for the geographical location of the bearer. The combination of geo-location with personal information makes urban population control a reality for the Chinese government. The Times Keith Bradsher reports that:
The City of Shenzen near Hong Kong in southern China is a fast growing manufacturing center with a population of almost 13 million people. Shenzen is also a laboratory for the latest in urban surveillance technology. According to the New York Times, a new generation of surveillance software and digital ID cards are being introduced in Shenzen. These identity cards will contain chips that not only carry a lot of information but also allow for the geographical location of the bearer. The combination of geo-location with personal information makes urban population control a reality for the Chinese government. The Times Keith Bradsher reports that:
"Data on the chip will include not just the citizen’s name and address but also work history, educational background, religion, ethnicity, police record, medical insurance status and landlord’s phone number. Even personal reproductive history will be included, for enforcement of China’s controversial “one child” policy. Plans are being studied to add credit histories, subway travel payments and small purchases charged to the card."The role of American corporations and investment firms in making this system possible is important to note. China Public Security has been financed in part by American investment groups. According to the Times:
"Incorporated in Florida, China Public Security has raised much of the money to develop its technology from two investment funds in Plano, Tex., Pinnacle Fund and Pinnacle China Fund. Three investment banks — Roth Capital Partners in Newport Beach, Calif.; Oppenheimer & Company in New York; and First Asia Finance Group of Hong Kong — helped raise the money."The software used is based on the Windows platform and must work on servers manufactured by American corporations like Cisco and HP. The point is that the political security system of China could not work without the material assistance of American companies:
"The role of American companies in helping Chinese security forces has periodically been controversial in the United States. Executives from Yahoo, Google, Microsoft and Cisco Systems testified in February 2006 at a Congressional hearing called to review whether they had deliberately designed their systems to help the Chinese state muzzle dissidents on the Internet; they denied having done so."
Labels: China, surveillance
