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  • China has a nationwide health code system

  • They started it to control Covid

  • But they're using it to control people

  • And now it's here to stay

  • Welcome to China Uncensored.

  • I'm Chris Chappell.

  • The Chinese Communist Party is no quitter.

  • At least when it comes to their zero Covid policy.

  • Which the Party is now calling societal zero Covid, or dynamic zero Covid.

  • Which means it's not zero Covid.

  • Because true zero Covid is impossible.

  • Just like Communism.

  • But as criticism over the Chinese regime's Covid policies has increased, state-run media

  • have once again said China is sticking to their dynamic zero-Covid guns.

  • In fact, earlier this week, another city went into lockdown as Omicron cases spread.

  • At least they announced it this time, unlike last month's secret lockdown of Xiong'an,

  • China's city of the future.

  • Maybe that's because Xiong'an is Chinese leader Xi Jinping's pet project, and admitting

  • it had to be locked down due to a Covid outbreak would have been a political problem for both

  • local officials and Xi Jinping.

  • But no, that can't be right.

  • Chinese officials would never cover up a Covid outbreak for political reasons.

  • Which is why we should all believe China's Covid numbers are totally accurate.

  • The Chinese Communist Party's approach to Covid has always been political.

  • But it's not just about lockdowns.

  • It's also about implementing even more control over Chinese people.

  • And those Covid controls will outlast the virus.

  • You have to hand it to the Communist Party.

  • They really focus on what they're good at.

  • Repressing people isn't a job, it's a lifestyle.

  • Take China's nationwide Covid health tracking system.

  • People sign up for a health code through one of several mobile phone apps.

  • It's a QR code that looks like this.

  • Without the health code, you can't enter buildings, restaurants, public transportation,

  • or even parks.

  • The QR code turns green, yellow, or red depending on the person's risk level.

  • Once your health code turns from green to yellow or red, your movements will be restricted.

  • In some cases, you'll be required to either self quarantine, or be sent to a quarantine

  • facility.

  • Whether your code is green, yellow, or red is supposed to be based on your possible exposure

  • risk to Covid.

  • But it's not always that straightforward.

  • “A state-run news outlet this month published an analysis of each province's criteria

  • for a health code to turn from green to yellow.

  • It concluded that, for most provinces, the answer was unclear.”

  • Sometimes the restrictions are completely ridiculous.

  • Like when authorities decided that people were close contacts if their cellphone signal

  • was within a half mile of an infected person.

  • But it can get even more extreme than that.

  • Remember last month when China claimed an Omicron outbreak in Beijing came from Canadian

  • mail?

  • Which is obviously not true.

  • Look, the worst thing you could possibly get from Canadian mail is a maple syrup-coated

  • hockey puck.

  • Don't ask.

  • Anyway, after the government's claims that Omicron came through international mail, people

  • who received international packages had their health codes turn yellow.

  • Imagine not being able to leave your home for 14 days because someone sent you a maple

  • syrup-coated hockey puck.

  • But wait, there's more.

  • A Reuters correspondent said he had an acquaintance who ended up in a quarantine hotel because

  • she happened to bike past a supermarket at the exact moment a person who later tested

  • positive for Covid walked out of the store.

  • At this rate China is going to start quarantining people if they have contact with an infected

  • person over Zoom.

  • What if the virus can travel through the Internet tubes?

  • Better safe than sorry.

  • How are people in China dealing with the health codes?

  • I'll tell you after the break.

  • Welcome back.

  • The Chinese Communist Party has been using health codes to monitor and track Chinese

  • people for almost two years now.

  • It seems like most people have been supportive.

  • But, we're probably not hearing much from the people who aren't supportive, because

  • that seems like a great way to have your health code suddenly turn red.

  • Forever.

  • According to a Chinese blogger who has written about health codes and privacy, most people

  • have made a mental trade-off of giving up some of their rights for absolute security.

  • Which always works out great.

  • But even in China, people have raised concerns about data privacy with the health codes.

  • Especially after reports that some cities want to make the health tracking apps permanent.

  • Chinese authorities responded to these privacy concerns by issuing regulations to make sure

  • the Chinese tech companies operating these apps respect people's privacy.

  • Which is like the head of the mob telling you he'll make sure your restaurant is safefor

  • a price.

  • The price is that these health tracking systems share information with the Chinese police.

  • And not just the police.

  • For this high-tech health tracking system to work, the Chinese Communist Party also

  • needs an army of millions to enforce their zero Covid policy.

  • And for that army, the Communist Party has gone back to its roots.

  • It uses what's called a grid management system.

  • Under the grid management system, cities, villages and towns are divided into sections,

  • sometimes of just a few blocks, which are then assigned to individual workers.”

  • These grid workers then monitor everyone who lives in their section of the grid.

  • It's similar to how Chairman Mao used neighborhood committees to monitor and control people during

  • the Cultural Revolution.

  • And now these millions of grid workers are getting a little extra help when it comes

  • to spying on people.

  • The central government has directed the police, as well as internet and telephone

  • companies, to share information about residents' travel history with community workers so that

  • the workers can decide whether residents are considered high-risk.”

  • It is possible to not use a health code app in China.

  • But then your movements would be heavily restricted.

  • Zan Aizong, a former journalist in Hangzhouhas refused to use the health code, but it means

  • moving around is difficult, and he finds it hard to explain his reasoning to workers at

  • checkpoints.”

  • I mean, why wouldn't you want the Chinese Communist Party to be able to track your every

  • move?

  • If you're worried about it, that obviously means you've done something wrong that you're

  • trying to hide.

  • Like receiving Canadian mail.

  • That's how Chinese authorities see it, at least.

  • More after the break.

  • Welcome back.

  • Now it may have occurred to those of you watching this that an opaque system run by an authoritarian

  • regime using technology to spy on people and control their movements might be ripe for

  • abuse.

  • You would be right.

  • And the Chinese Communist Party has already used the health code app against the lowest

  • scum in society: human rights activists.

  • Xie Yang is a human rights lawyer.

  • Back in November, Xie wanted to travel to Shanghai to visit the mother of a Chinese

  • dissident.

  • Police warned him not to go.

  • Xie tried to go anyway.

  • His health code was green, and there were no Covid cases in his city.

  • Then after police tried to stop him, his health code turned red.

  • He successfully resisted being put into quarantine, but he was stopped from traveling.

  • And last month, Xie was detained for inciting subversion.

  • Wang Yu is another well-known human rights lawyer.

  • She says Chinese authorities have tried to use the health code app to stop her from working.

  • When she tried to enter Beijing last November, her health code app made it look like she

  • was coming from a city with a Covid outbreak, even though she wasn't.

  • That would have blocked her from entering Beijing.

  • In the past, security officers had to physically follow her to interfere with her work.

  • Now, [Wang Yu] worries, they can restrict her movements from afar.”

  • It's no coincidence that both of these cases happened back in November.

  • That was when there was a big Communist Party meeting in Beijing.

  • That's when authorities are always more worried about controlling Chinese dissidents.

  • And now, there's an app for that!

  • Ultimately, China's health code system isn't about controlling the coronavirus.

  • It's about controlling people.

  • And that's what makes it so dangerous.

  • Now it's time for me to answer a question from a member of the China Uncensored 50-cent

  • army.

  • A fan who supports the show on the crowdfunding website Patreon or the exclusive social media

  • community Locals.

  • Genghis16 asks on Locals: “What's happening now with Evergrande.

  • A few months ago it was supposed to fail starting the house of cards collapse.

  • Haven't heard much about it lately.

  • Do you guys have anything to add on it now?”

  • Well Genghis, Evergrande has not failed.

  • But it's not doing well.

  • The real estate giant is facing over 300 billion dollars of debt.

  • And while they've started to pay some domestic creditors, they're defaulting on their foreign

  • creditors.

  • Some of whom have threatened to sue.

  • So now Evergrande is asking for more time, and warning that if creditors do sue, it could

  • lead to bad consequences.

  • How bad is it?

  • Well the company's chairman has been selling off his personal assets to keep Evergrande

  • afloat.

  • But it looks like the Chinese regime is also trying to keep Evergrande afloat by helping

  • the company restructure its debt.

  • The Chinese Communist Party will do whatever it can to save the real estate market, because

  • so many Chinese people have their money there.

  • If it did collapse, it could lead to protests across the country.

  • But they've got their work cut out for them.