New Chinese ID Cards Contain Ethnicity, Religion, and More
In the US, attempts to create high-tech ID cards keep getting bogged down with privacy concerns. In China, however, such concerns don't really cause much pause for the government. Starting this month in the city of Shenzen, residents will begin receiving ID cards fitted with computer chips that contain their home address, work history, background, ethnicity, religion and medical insurance.The 12.4 million residents of the city will also be constantly under watch by a network of 20,000 cameras currently being installed to track them. These don't include the 180,000 existing private security cameras in the workplace, to which the government will have access.
The systems monitoring the cameras will sport facial-recognition abilities, enabling the government to easily identify criminals and social dissidents. But citizens won't be the only ones being tracked: Police will also wear GPS transmitters so that administrators can monitor their positions in real-time. Should they go out of GPS range, triangulation will be performed based on the towers their cell phones have connected to. Presumably this is to make sure police are safe, or perhaps to find out just how much time they're spending in the Chinese equivalent of the donut shop.
Interestingly, much of the means to support this sort of monitoring comes from Florida, of all places -- a company called China Public Security has developed much of the technology, which is funded largely by American investment banks. So, when such technology is inevitably adopted in the U.S., at least we won't have to go off-shore to buy the stuff.
From 'New York Times'
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Abbi @ Aug 13th 2007 9:43PM
Umm...this kind of stuff sounds really, really familiar. Has anyone here ever read 1984? Being watched by 20,000 security cameras, not to mention facial recognition? Oh, and does anyone happen to recall that Hitler had everyone in Germany post their ethnicity and religion on their identificaion cards? I think we all know where that led to. This world is becoming a rather scary place.
Megger51 @ Aug 13th 2007 9:52PM
I would say Abbi says it all.
Megger51 @ Aug 13th 2007 9:54PM
I would say Abbi says it all.
Fred P Wrede @ Aug 14th 2007 12:56AM
It is not very much better in these USA than in China where I see video cameras everywhere I go. We do not have the freedom once enjoyed here anymore. A picture is worth a thousand words!!!!!!! Soon the poor lawyers will be out of business,hallelujah.
Dee @ Aug 14th 2007 8:16AM
Big Brother, 1984.
Lee @ Aug 14th 2007 8:33AM
I love this, since I have never committed a crime and have nothing to hide. I hate having rapist and child molesters living in my city and not knowing who they are, so I'd be happy for this. Video cameras have done a great deal to help solve crime and it does wonders in court to prove cases. America's Most Wanted needs help putting scumbags behind bars.
Alicia Jones @ Aug 14th 2007 1:31PM
As creepy as it all sounds, I am an American citizen (your typical, run-of-the-mill blond WASPy girl), living as an expat in Shanghai, China. Certainly, we know we are being watched on the internet and whatnot, but really, all the montoring that is done doesn't really interfere with your day to day life. The majority of the time we don't notice it at all. China is far too unorganized for this to work on a large scale, plus, as long as people are doing what they should be, it won't be an issue. Not to mention, America would do the same thing in a heart-beat if it could.
Watchdog @ Aug 14th 2007 6:58PM
You think it's bad now, take a look at what this software company is developing and think what China would do with it: www.brslabs.com
Susan @ Aug 18th 2007 9:45AM
No, we haven't seen the half of it yet. Read REVELATIONS lately? I've been reading where people say the Bible is outdated thinking, fake, etc... Better get our ducks in a row. If you don't think he's coming back-better PRAY you're right...
JESUS @ Aug 30th 2007 2:01PM
Americas banks funding this? is anyone finding this stuff at least a little strange. I mean the only thing that keeps us from this in the U.S are the people and their privacy concerns. The government would have already enacted face scanners and constant GPS if the American people ,who hold freedom far above security, weren't holding them back. This should make people wonder who the real Americans are and just what the elite of this country would do if it wasn't for the peoples beliefs in "freedom."
terrymcfalls @ Nov 5th 2007 4:11PM
we need a national ID card to confirm citizenship,they should be needed to vote or get any government benefits,the only people that dont want it are criminals and illegals...