[NYT] While on your way to work or on an errand, every 100 meters you pass a police blockhouse. Video cameras on street corners and lamp posts recognize your face and track your movements. At multiple checkpoints, police officers scan your ID, your irises and the contents of your phone. At the supermarket or bank, you are scanned again, your bags are X-rayed and an officer runs a wand over your body. Personal information, along with biometric data, resides in a database tied to your ID number. The system crunches this into a composite score that ranks you as “safe,” “normal” or “unsafe.” Based on those categories, you may or may not be allowed to visit a museum, pass through certain neighborhoods, go to the mall, check into a hotel, rent an apartment, apply for a job or buy a train ticket. Or you may be detained to undergo re-education, like thousands of others.
Uighurs’ DNA is collected during state-run medical checkups. Local authorities install a GPS tracking system in vehicles. All communication software is banned except WeChat. When Uighurs buy a kitchen knife, their ID data is etched on the blade.