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Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

vice.com

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Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#221

Post by mLuby »

SubiculumCode wrote: post #211
Ididntdothis wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. People are already used to much more surveillance than they used and this trend just keeps going. Sometimes it's China taking the lead, sometimes the US, sometimes other countries. But they all look at each other and slowly adopt what the other country is doing. I am pretty sure the next generation will never see anything other than complete surveillance by countries or corporations. And for them it will see…

If your whole argument is based on fatalism, you might as well say so....because right now you assume the conclusion.

It doesn't look like fatalism to me; the argument is based on the bandwagon effect and how dramatic outcomes can be arrived at through incremental changes.

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#222

Post by borvel »

Ididntdothis wrote: post #118
mLuby wrote: post #96

>"China is using technology for the perfection of dictatorship." -Pete Buttigieg, 2020 US presidential candidate PRC may be blazing the trail, but as the tech becomes proved and available, I won't be surprised to see creeping adoption in more "free" countries (especially following crises).

Exactly. People are already used to much more surveillance than they used and this trend just keeps going. Sometimes it's China taking the lead, sometimes the US, sometimes other countries. But they all look at each other and slowly adopt what the other country is doing. I am pretty sure the next generation will never see anything other than complete surveillance by countries or corporations. And for them it will see…

It's already "normal". People don't even realize there are cameras watching them everywhere, because they spend every moment trapped in their smartphone obsession while ignoring whatever goes on around them. It's tragic. Of course, the phone is the absolute worst offender in terms of state and corporate espionage (we don't even need microchips) but people choose to ignore the implications because they can play Flappy Bird and not have to make eye contact with people. There is already complete surveillance: 5G is its latest incarnation. Everything will be known and nothing will be safe. This is the "new age".

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#223

Post by CWuestefeld »

panarky wrote: post #106
murbard2 wrote: post #6

The US is forcing its tourists to give away a list of all their social media accounts and all their email accounts. If you're a foreign journalist writing pseudonymously for your safety, you must now share that information with the US government to enter the country. This isn't quite on the level of forcing people to install malware on their phone yet, but give it a couple years.

> The US ... This style of argument is deflection, and it gets us nowhere. It's very effective in redirecting the focus away from one bad actor and onto another bad actor, though.

Why is the conversation to be focused exclusively on China, though? Maybe the correct lesson to be drawn from this is the creeping dangers of authoritarian power in any country. Maybe seeing the abuses of China together with those of the USA - and the other FIVE EYES countries, and elsewhere, will lead us to understand that we need to keep tight reins on all government. But forcing us to discuss only what China has done denies us the opportunity for such a conversation.

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#224

Post by orthecreedence »

mLuby wrote: post #96

>"China is using technology for the perfection of dictatorship." -Pete Buttigieg, 2020 US presidential candidate PRC may be blazing the trail, but as the tech becomes proved and available, I won't be surprised to see creeping adoption in more "free" countries (especially following crises).

In China, surveillance is nationalized. In the US, it's nationalized (NSA) and privatized (Facebook). The tech already exists and people are using it willingly.

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#225

Post by vulkd »

implying wrote: post #220

Is there any way to get a copy of the application? I'm sure there are some of us that would love to take it apart and look for URLs / file hashes it is looking for.

From the VICE article: https://github.com/motherboardgithub/bxaq

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#226

Post by dole »

pupdogg wrote: post #84
saagarjha wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the phrase you're looking for is "extremists have used $RELIGION to justify their actions throughout history, to the horror of most its practitioners". You can largely replace the specific religion with of an organized belief system of your choosing.

yes, please provide factual proof of how your statement is accurate when it comes to Buddhism?

Self-immolation.

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#227

Post by dangus »

The headline is really alarmist, implying China in general is applying this practice, while the reality is that this is a practice limited to sensitive regions. It's pretty much in line with the status quo in Western China. China has been very protective of the Xinjiang region for a long time, and very restrictive on travel in and out, especially for foreigners.

But here we go, we've started an alarmist comment thread where we've extended this out way beyond the current implementation, extending it into some kind of dystopian future where this kind of thing is universal. Time to get a burner phone and lock ourselves at home with our tin foil hats tightly in place!

All countries have always been paranoid when it comes to more contested and less stable regions. It's nothing new nor a surprise. Is this situation a good thing? No. It's been a human rights problem for decades.

Still, we should stop freaking out, that would be great.

This is not the customs and border process in China as a whole. It's not a reason to cancel a trip to Shanghai or Beijing or Xi'an.

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#228

Post by dang »

Comments moved to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20336920, since the guidelines call for original sources.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Edit: a user emailed to point out that this article is itself one of the original sources, because vice.com aka Motherboard was one of the investigating parties. That was my mistake! Sorry.

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#229

Post by papermachete »

redwards510 wrote: post #192

If the US started doing this (scanning phones for islamic terrorism files) to foreigners at the border, would you care? If it was just a scan and no data was harvested? I believe strongly in the right to privacy, but I have to admit, I do not want anyone coming into my country who has beheading videos on their phone. Unless they are a journalist or something, obviously.

>just a scan and no data was harvested?

Then keeping privacy in mind, I should be able to scroll around my gallery and play a few sound files to convince the authorities. Another option would be to ask for the source code and an hour to compile it, then run the app, provided an audit has shown no malicious functionalities.

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#230

Post by TheGRS »

theslurmmustflo wrote: post #153
bduerst wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Call it what it is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism

Can you explain what's wrong with whataboutism?

Other than being a logical fallacy it's also a race to the bottom in terms of what we (as a society) deem appropriate. "Oh what I did was wrong? Well what about that guy over there? Why aren't you judging him first?" The argument is usually in bad faith as if one problem can't be solved until we've dealt with everything else that's worse.
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