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China has wealth of data on what individuals are doing at a micro level

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Re: China has wealth of data on what individuals are doing at a micro level

#101
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, but judging by how things are going in western nations, especially in the USA, we're more likely to emulate their "mistakes and authoritarian overreach" before we even break ground on that rail from SF to LA.

> before we even break ground on that rail from SF to LA We already have, here's video of the construction: https://youtu.be/1lsiYkyEW0w Monthly construction updates: https://www.hsr.ca.gov/buildhsr.html

This is sad. I thought I'd be able to see a map showing green as part of the rail line that was complete or percentage complete. It just has some random project names where there's some work going on. I drive to Fresno every other month and cant wait to ride this, but nothing on the route seems to indicate any urgency to complete this project.

Re: China has wealth of data on what individuals are doing at a micro level

#102
post #99

What a silly article: "download the controls to the private sector" indeed. The government already owns the telcos, half the banks, the only domestic interbank transfer system and the only domestic travel reservation system so they have your IMEI, real time location and history, network traffic, bank balance and payment and employment history and travel plans anyway. And that of your friends/relatives. They certainly…

>That said, after 16 years in and out of China, I still feel safer here than the US. Can you elaborate on why is it?

Physically: Fights are rare, guns are extremely rare, even if a disagreement turns loud and verbal it usually works out without police involvement. Cars: lots of 'em, but they don't move fast so the roads tend to be friendlier to pedestrians and cyclists. Medical care doesn't have overheads so high as to result in triple-mortgages and suicide watch.

Socially: Urban environments tend to offer more of a sense of community than I've personally experienced in many other countries. People have your back by default against pretty much anything.

Legally: Because the courts are highly backed up and trust in fair outcomes within legal system is still murky, litigation is rare.

Re: China has wealth of data on what individuals are doing at a micro level

#103
post #91
post #78

This is what comes out of Google allowing apps to read phone IMEI in Android. I have no concrete proof, but the reason why all major Chinese apps snoop after phone IMEI is said to be that the commies have secretly demanded Chinese dotcoms to collect and report phone IMEIs. For example if you have a 6.0 or later Android, Alibaba app will block you if you disabled the permission to read IMEI or it detects spoofing. htt…

I'm on 7.1.1 and I don't feel like installing the Alibaba app to try this out but when you say it requires the permission to read IMEI is this under the phone permission setting that says "read phone status and identity" or something else?

appears that they put it into that now

Re: China has wealth of data on what individuals are doing at a micro level

#104
post #16
post #11

Many people might not know, in US, credit card transactions/payments are on sale by various sources. There's a very active market for this and some fintech startups are solely based on this kind of data. Since most of our financial life is based on credit card, we are under surveillance at a micro level in a similar situation. The issue is we not only use 'services', we handle data to the service providers. Data unde…

The thing in China is that so many trivial daily activities require government-issued ID. Buying a coach/train ticket. Buying a SIM card. Every website/mobile app registration require a mobile phone number, which means any account is easily traceable to your government-issued ID, too. Hell, even visiting your friend in a hotel requires recording your ID before hotel staff will let you go upstairs (strictly enforced i…

When going overseas, all of those are required anyways:

1. The DB wants to see id (that they can verify) for Eurorail passes. The DB or the Belgian rail people require seeing the purchasing CC.

2. Buying a sim in europe requires a passport.

3. Most things you sign up for in the US requires a phone number. Loyalty programs certianly do.

   3.1 Walgreens requires your ID in hand to scan it to verify that you're "over 21" (Really they just want to rip the info)

 4. Hotels require passport details (England, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, France, carrebian, etc)

Re: China has wealth of data on what individuals are doing at a micro level

#105
post #87
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing in China is that so many trivial daily activities require government-issued ID. Buying a coach/train ticket. Buying a SIM card. Every website/mobile app registration require a mobile phone number, which means any account is easily traceable to your government-issued ID, too. Hell, even visiting your friend in a hotel requires recording your ID before hotel staff will let you go upstairs (strictly enforced i…

Yeah, as a tourist I was surprised that all hotels ranging from 5 star to small local inns were insistent on having everybody's passport when checking in.

That's part of the law. It's because foreigners need to register with the local police where they are staying. If you stay in a hotel, the hotel does it for you.

Re: China has wealth of data on what individuals are doing at a micro level

#106
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>That said, after 16 years in and out of China, I still feel safer here than the US. Can you elaborate on why is it?

Physically: Fights are rare, guns are extremely rare, even if a disagreement turns loud and verbal it usually works out without police involvement. Cars: lots of 'em, but they don't move fast so the roads tend to be friendlier to pedestrians and cyclists. Medical care doesn't have overheads so high as to result in triple-mortgages and suicide watch. Socially: Urban environments tend to offer more of a sense of commun…

Thank you, this is very useful. Healthcare is a big one. In the U.S. Almost everyone is one step removed from a medical-expenses-related bankruptcy.

Re: China has wealth of data on what individuals are doing at a micro level

#107
post #56
post #35

China is fascinating. On one hand... - China has done better than any other country on Earth at poverty reduction. Chinese policy since Deng Xiaoping lifted hundreds of millions of people out of subsistence poverty. Free markets were a big part of this, but so were Special Economic Zones starting with Shenzhen, a culture of sharing IP, massive govt investments in infrastructure, research and education. - China are al…

> China has done better than any other country on Earth at poverty reduction This is only true if you're applying a ludicrous double standard. China has done better than most other countries at this because China was extremely poor just a few decades back. Nowadays, much of China is still very poor. Of course it's much easier for China to slash its poverty rates than for an already-developed nation. The real thing to…

> western middle-class style quality

I don't think there is unified western middle-class style quality in every western country. US on average is richer than many european countries, where average wage is around 1k per month, is this middle class or not?

Much of China is still poor. There is also 50-100 million estimated Chinese now can afford modern cozy life(income 16k to 34k dollars per household), whether that is western style(air quality is certainly not :p), I don't know. Both exist, no point using one to deny the other.

Only emphasizing the poor part of China, overlooking the fact there is rising urban population seems like a lot of people are still in denial of the fact China is already a serious competitor in many fields.

http://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-middle-class-is-explod...

Re: China has wealth of data on what individuals are doing at a micro level

#108
post #95
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, as a tourist I was surprised that all hotels ranging from 5 star to small local inns were insistent on having everybody's passport when checking in.

The hotels I stayed at in Spain, France, and Italy made copies of mine.

Chinese hotels are required to purchase computerized ID readers, which are connected to police databases, where all kinds of records are stored. So if you have a history of drug abuse, expect late night urine checks. If you are an protester against illegal land-grabs checking into a hotel in Beijing, expect police and local government staff to show up in a few hours (to take you home or to detention centres without any court involved). In China, every person staying or visiting a hotel room must go through this ID check. In other countries, my experience is that normally they will ask for some sort of ID of one person, even if two or more will use the room.

Re: China has wealth of data on what individuals are doing at a micro level

#109
post #91
post #78

This is what comes out of Google allowing apps to read phone IMEI in Android. I have no concrete proof, but the reason why all major Chinese apps snoop after phone IMEI is said to be that the commies have secretly demanded Chinese dotcoms to collect and report phone IMEIs. For example if you have a 6.0 or later Android, Alibaba app will block you if you disabled the permission to read IMEI or it detects spoofing. htt…

I'm on 7.1.1 and I don't feel like installing the Alibaba app to try this out but when you say it requires the permission to read IMEI is this under the phone permission setting that says "read phone status and identity" or something else?

[deleted]

Re: China has wealth of data on what individuals are doing at a micro level

#110
post #105
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, as a tourist I was surprised that all hotels ranging from 5 star to small local inns were insistent on having everybody's passport when checking in.

That's part of the law. It's because foreigners need to register with the local police where they are staying. If you stay in a hotel, the hotel does it for you.

This seems to be standard in many Asian countries.
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