
A Surveillance Net Blankets China’s Cities - axiomdata316
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/technology/china-surveillance.html
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nneonneo
Crime in China used to be really bad, years ago. I recall one visit as a teen,
some 15 years ago, where someone attempted to snatch my mother’s purse as she
was riding on a bike, in broad daylight in a major city. In the last five
years, such incidents seem to be significantly rarer; while I don’t have crime
stats handy, I can definitely say that I haven’t worried about crime.

The thing is, everyone already expects to be watched in public. The government
in this sense is really just living up to the expectation.

To the average citizen, they can ascribe lower crime rates to the surveillance
program, which makes them feel safer. Fitting with the cultural inclination
towards societal stability and harmony, surveillance does not seem out of
place or unusual in public for folks.

~~~
dv_dt
Is it a crime to protest in the streets? I wonder if the Hong Kong citizens
would feel safer for a surveillance net across their city.

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dv_dt
What is authoritarian for the goose is authoritarian for the gander. Makes me
wonder where this kind of thing is at in the US now.

[https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/08/persistent-
surve...](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/08/persistent-surveillance-
systems-has-been-watching-baltimore-for-months/)

~~~
papermachete
It's not okay just because America does it to a limited extent in a miniature
percentage of land. It's actually a false equivalence.

~~~
coribuci
> It's not okay just because America does it to a limited extent in a
> miniature percentage of land. It's actually a false equivalence.

America does not do it to a limited extent. America spies all the western
world. Everything which goes on internet is watched by NSA and CIA.

