Social Stability - 91. page

RFA reported that since China launched its social credit system, over 10 million people have been restricted from purchasing airline or high speed train tickets due to their poor social credit rating. The social credit system collects data from an individual’s financial records, social behavior such as traffic violations, criminal records, or academic integrity records. The social credit system score is then used to control the individual’s whole life, such as whether he will be restricted from leaving the country, whether he will be accepted by a school, and whether he can become a civil servant. According to a commentary that the article quoted, the social credit score in other countries is used for rating financial credit. However, in China, financial institutions are not the only ones that use the information on an individual’s social credit score. It also contains information that government agencies can use. That information is not used just to manage society, but rather to control society.

Source: RFA, May 18, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/hc-05182018110948.html

Epoch Times reported that, as of the tenth anniversary of the earthquake in Sichuan Province, officials are still covering up their corruption and are still retaliating against those who choose to appeal. The article stated that those who were responsible for the shabby construction, especially of the school buildings, have not been held accountable; the official’s embezzlement of the rescue funding is still kept secret; and parents and the local people who reported on the officials or who wanted to appeal are still under surveillance. One woman told the Epoch Times that people were warned not to accept interviews from foreign media. She told the reporter that her house was damaged during the earthquake but she has no money to repair it. She said that the villagers were forced to sign a cash receipt showing an amount that was higher than what they actually received while the officials pocketed the rest of the money. A writer from Sichuan Province who wrote an appeal letter for these villagers told Epoch Times that he was saddened to see how those legal citizens ended up losing their freedom to speak and to appeal.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a report that confirmed that, as of September 25, 2008, following the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan Province, 69,227 had died, 374,643 had been injured, and 17,923 were missing. The unofficial number that the Bashu United League released stated that the death toll was at 300,000. Among them, 30,000 were students; most of them were children in kindergarten. During the earthquake, the schools reported having the most casualties because of the poor quality of the buildings. The government buildings, however, were found to be the most earthquake resistant.

Source: Epoch Times, April 28, 2018
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/18/4/28/n10344935.htm

Radio Free Asia reported that China has divided neighborhoods into small blocks of about 15 to 20 households each and has assigned an administrator to manage each block. The neighborhood committee maintains close contact with the local police department and regularly reports “suspicious” movements going on in the neighborhood. Recently a hiring notice for the Residential Administrator of a neighborhood committee indicated that the administrators are required to know their assigned neighborhood, people’s housing situations, the basic infrastructure setup, the number of organizations in the neighborhood, the population and any potential risks. They also need to collect feedback from the residents and be prepared to assist and resolve conflicts. Each administrator is responsible for 15 to 20 families in the neighborhood. The administrators are also required to maintain confidentiality when going about their work.

A news report from last November showed that these administrators can make up to 5,000 yuan (US$796) a month. The money comes out of the stability maintenance fund.

Source: Radio Free Asia, April 10, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/meiti/ql2-04102018102215.html

Radio Free Asia reported that Wang Qi, a Chinese rights activist and founder of 64tianwang.com asked his lawyer to file a lawsuit against Ten Cent for fabricating a private WeChat conversation between him and two other petitioners. He said that the Public Security Bureau used the false evidence to arrest the three of them and they have been imprisoned for the past year and four months. Wang was allegedly charged with “illegally providing state secrets to a foreign country.” The trial still does not have a start date. Wang said he has been beaten and has suffered physical abuse while imprisoned and is currently suffering kidney failure. Wang’s mother tried to get him released on bail but her request was denied.

Source: Radio Free Asia, April 4, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/ql2-04042018102747.html

Radio France Internationale reported that following Apple, Airbnb (an American company which operates an online marketplace and hospitality service for people to lease or rent short-term lodging) announced that it will share its customer information with the Chinese authorities in order to comply with China’s Internet security law which went into effect last June. The Internet security law requires that foreign technology companies must store their business data and personal information on a domestic server and provide technology support to the national security agency. Airbnb said that there will be no separate notice to the customers when their data is shared with the Chinese authorities. The data will include personal information such as the property owners’ name, phone number, email address, passport information, property address, and customer information. Airbnb customers can decide to withdraw their listing from Airbnb. The new measure will only apply to Airbnb customers in mainland China. Currently Airbnb has business in 191 countries and 65,000 cities. It has over 3 million property listings.

Source: Radio France Internationale, March 31, 2018

http://cn.rfi.fr/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD/20180331-%E7%BB%A7%E8%8B%B9%E6%9E%9C%E5%90%8Eairbnb%E6%B0%91%E5%AE%BF%E7%9F%AD%E7%A7%9F%E5%B9%B3%E5%8F%B0%E5%B0%86%E5%90%91%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E4%BA%A4%E5%87%BA%E7%94%A8%E6%88%B7%E8%B5%84%E8%AE%AF