"A Week In Xinjiang’s Absolute Surveillance State" Topic

"During a dinner with Chinese friends, I asked the table, "Do you guys have friends in Xinjiang? I'm planning a trip there." The lively vibe we had enjoyed turned into silence.

"Xinjiang? Don't go there. It's too dangerous. There's all those Uyghurs with knives. Go to Hainan or something, it's nicer there," a Chinese friend cautioned.

"No, no, it used to be dangerous, but now it's super safe. I have family there, they tell me there's police everywhere now, nothing to worry about. It's the safest place in China right now," another friend said. She was trying to encourage me, in her way, but it made me rather uneasy…."
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Amicalement
Armand

My take is that China's strategy in strictly controlling Xinjiang is to pre-empt any Islamic radicalism from taking root and avoid the "terrorism" problems in Europe and America.

My take is… this is our "Big Brother" future… (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

My take is… this is our "Big Brother" future… (smile)

Some people say BB is already here. Ever seen the TV series 'Person of Interest'?

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Yep, it definitely is already here, and far surpasses the stuff in the movie/book, I suspect.

People also "voluntarily" pay for their own "personal tracking devices", instead of the government having to buy those, too, which I find very interesting.

They should be paying for, or at least sharing the revenue from the wearers/carriers of all those portable tracking devices, for their data, instead of reaping the profits off of doing that.

People also "voluntarily" pay for their own "personal tracking devices", instead of the government having to buy those, too, which I find very interesting.

Why? The reality is most people happily throw their money away buying the latest iPhones and Samsung Galaxys knowing that they may very well be surrendering their privacy in the process. They ignore that fact because the pleasure and conveniences these devices offer outweigh whatever privacy concerns they may harbor in the very back of their minds. Besides, they are law-abiding citizens with nothing to hide so who cares? If Big Bro has nothing better to do than to spy on their mundane lives, then go right ahead. Some might even welcome the extra scrutiny, and I don't just mean those attention hogs who "star" in the popular CBS reality show 'Big Brother.' Privacy is so overrated nowadays.

But if it comes to light that their personal data may have been leaked by Facebook, then watch out.

While VPNs and burner phones are legal, privacy is there if you want it.

Are you sure…? (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Tango is on a roll in this one.