Millions of would-be Chinese travelers have been blocked from buying airplane and train tickets. Why? Because the government’s social credit system classified them as a “risk.”
So much for Chinese taking a vacation
Last year, 17.5 million people were banned from buying airplane tickets in China, and 5.5 million were prevented from riding a train. In total, 23 million people faced travel bans. Of them, 128 were prevented from leaving the country.
According to media reports, the people were banned from buying tickets as a result of an unfavorable social credit score. According to the National Public Credit Information Center annual report, the data points collected on “untrustworthy conduct” were over 14 million in total. Failure to pay taxes, failure to repay loans, and engaging in false advertising are some of the reasons for a low social credit score.
According to the National Public Credit Information Center annual report, the data points collected on ‘untrustworthy conduct’ were over 14 million in total. (Image: Screenshot via YouTube)
China has seen a radical change due to the implementation of the social credit system. The system measures good citizenry, which the Chinese government has deemed necessary. “Keeping trust is glorious and breaking trust is disgraceful,” the government said. So if a citizen fails to pay his or her taxes, it will be reflected in the person’s standing in the social credit system. It keeps a score for every Chinese citizen wherein those who are good, law-abiding citizens get privileges over those with low scores. No one is exempted.
“Bad citizens,” or those with low scores, are banned from using some basic public facilities, such as riding on airplanes or trains. The list of penalties is pretty extensive. Playing games and not paying bills can reduce the speed of one’s Internet. Refusing military service can prevent a Chinese citizen from attending the best schools or checking in to the best hotels. Those categorized as “trust-breaking” individuals are stopped from getting high-ranking jobs, and so on.
Fair or misused system?
According to former Chinese official Hou Yun Chun, the system is needed to exact due punishment. “If we don’t increase the cost of being discredited, we are encouraging discredited people to keep at it,” he explained. However, many fear that the social credit system could be unreasonable.
Cheng Xiaonong, a Chinese economist from the United States, told Radio Free Asia that the system that prevented millions of citizens from traveling was misused. “How the person is restricted in terms of public services or business opportunities should be in accordance with how and to what extent he or she lost his credibility,” Zhi Zhenfeng, the director of the Department of Cyber and Information Law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in 2018. (Global Times)
The social credit system monitors every move and action of the people. (Image: Screenshot via YouTube)
The social credit system monitors every move and action of the people. Such an idea strikes fear in the minds of many Chinese citizens. They are afraid that they might become victims of the social credit system. However, there are also Chinese who embrace it. For them, continuous monitoring and the invasion of privacy are just small sacrifices for a value their nation lacks — trust.
Currently, the social credit system is still in the works and is presently run by city councils or private tech platforms in some areas of the country. By 2020, it will be fully operational nationwide.
Follow us on X, Facebook, or Pinterest
