Patrol grandmothers and cameras at every turn... what else will the Chinese authorities come up with to strengthen control?
A large-scale campaign has been launched in residential areas across Beijing to strengthening control The Communist Party of China over the daily lives of its citizens. The project is led personally by President Xi Jinping.
Its goal is to make pervasive surveillance, which spread in Chinese cities during the COVID-19 pandemic under the pretext of countering infection, the norm on an ongoing basis. Unlike in previous years, when surveillance was focused on activists and dissidents, it now affects virtually every city dweller.
In police stations serving residential areas of the capital, the walls are covered with sheets of paper with detailed information about the inhabitants of each apartment: names, phone numbers and other information. Each line is marked with a specific color — green for "reliable", yellow for "requiring attention", orange for those who need "strict control".
Based on this information, law enforcement officers determine the degree of potential threat from residents and plan further actions to monitor suspicious persons.
This practice goes back to the ideas of Mao Zedong, who once encouraged ordinary citizens to identify and "re-educate" perceived "class enemies" like landlords or well-to-do peasants. Xi Jinping, who regularly refers to the" Fengqiao Experience " in his speeches, revived this approach by mobilizing ordinary citizens on behalf of the party to fight any possible threats and strengthen its legitimacy.
In addition to law enforcement agencies, employers are also involved in the system of total surveillance that is being created. Now, within companies, they are required to appoint so-called "security consultants" who regularly report to the police on the situation at enterprises and institutions.
On the streets of cities there are additional "eyes and ears" of the regime — numerous retired volunteers from among local residents. They patrol the neighborhoods assigned to them, informing law enforcement officers about any suspicious incidents.
Even in schools, special positions of "deputy directors of legal affairs" from among police officers and judges have been introduced. Their task is to create and manage personal files for students with an assessment of the degree of potential "risk" coming from each child.
Officially, the emergence of a new surveillance system is explained by the need to take care of the well-being and safety of the population. The authorities claim that this will make it possible to respond more quickly to any public requests and quickly solve everyday problems of citizens, without bringing the case to the courts. Conflicts will allegedly be settled by special party mediators.
However, there are concerns that in fact the main goal of the project is to prevent the slightest criticism of the Communist Party and its leadership — even on minor, apolitical issues. Experts warn that such total control over the life of society can ultimately cause serious damage to the authority and legitimacy of the authorities in the eyes of the people.
Despite occasional protests against tighter restrictions and a worsening economic situation, Xi is determined to extend the new repressive model to the entire country.
The party also issued the first top-level special instructions for dealing with the large civilian surveillance staff. They contain norms of enhanced indoctrination and a strict system of rewards and punishments for newly minted "caretakers".
One of the main achievements of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the ideologists of the Communist Party, was the creation of an extensive camera system that allows you to track the movements of citizens. Now the leader wants to consolidate the skills of such monitoring on a long-term basis.
Analysts also fear that such tight civil and security controls could seriously stifle the economic activity and social dynamism that Beijing needs to overcome the current crisis.
Even now, some entrepreneurs complain that the constant patrolling of streets by police and municipal inspectors hinders their activities. For example, a woman who sells fried chicken in the capital's Zhangjiawan suburb, which has become a role model in implementing the "Fengqiao Experience", cannot pay rent for three months. The reason is the authorities ' ban on installing her mobile tent on the sidewalk.
"If the economy suffers, there will be security problems," the woman says. "People have to earn a living. If they get nervous about the lack of funds, the situation will get out of hand."
According to state media, the first cases of open dissatisfaction with the authorities 'measures caused by citizens' financial difficulties have already appeared. For example, in Zhangjiawan, local residents also oppose the forced demolition of old villages for the construction of a new tourist zone.
98% of almost 1,700 families eventually agreed to move after representatives of the district administration went around all residents more than 1,600 times with persuasions and explanations. However, several families, dissatisfied with the amount of compensation, continued to protest.
"They don't have a normal dialogue with people, they just exhaust them with constant pressure," said one of the remaining residents, surnamed Mu. According to her, at night, groups of strangers were on duty at their house to intimidate, and during the demolition of neighboring buildings, the water supply was turned off. The highest authorities in this situation do not provide any help.
The case of prominent human rights activist Wang Quanzhang, who was released in 2020 after more than four years in prison, was also significant. Since his release, his movements in Beijing have been constantly monitored by 30 to 40 police and civilian observers.
Several homeowners have already evicted Wang Quanzhang from his rented apartments. The authorities also pressured school administrators not to accept his 11-year-old son. "We didn't think that if they couldn't expel us from Beijing, they would start harassing our child," the human rights activist laments. "The situation has only worsened since the pandemic."
However, the main obstacle to expanding the control system may be the huge costs necessary for this. There are already early signs that the creation of an army of civilian observers and supervisors is beginning to put a heavy burden on local government finances.
Some grassroots party cadres and police officers are already openly voicing complaints on social media about excessive workload and overworking in connection with the new duties of civil supervision. In the context of slowing economic growth, the maintenance of such a surveillance system can become an unbearable burden for regional budgets.
A large-scale campaign has been launched in residential areas across Beijing to strengthening control The Communist Party of China over the daily lives of its citizens. The project is led personally by President Xi Jinping.
Its goal is to make pervasive surveillance, which spread in Chinese cities during the COVID-19 pandemic under the pretext of countering infection, the norm on an ongoing basis. Unlike in previous years, when surveillance was focused on activists and dissidents, it now affects virtually every city dweller.
In police stations serving residential areas of the capital, the walls are covered with sheets of paper with detailed information about the inhabitants of each apartment: names, phone numbers and other information. Each line is marked with a specific color — green for "reliable", yellow for "requiring attention", orange for those who need "strict control".
Based on this information, law enforcement officers determine the degree of potential threat from residents and plan further actions to monitor suspicious persons.
This practice goes back to the ideas of Mao Zedong, who once encouraged ordinary citizens to identify and "re-educate" perceived "class enemies" like landlords or well-to-do peasants. Xi Jinping, who regularly refers to the" Fengqiao Experience " in his speeches, revived this approach by mobilizing ordinary citizens on behalf of the party to fight any possible threats and strengthen its legitimacy.
In addition to law enforcement agencies, employers are also involved in the system of total surveillance that is being created. Now, within companies, they are required to appoint so-called "security consultants" who regularly report to the police on the situation at enterprises and institutions.
On the streets of cities there are additional "eyes and ears" of the regime — numerous retired volunteers from among local residents. They patrol the neighborhoods assigned to them, informing law enforcement officers about any suspicious incidents.
Even in schools, special positions of "deputy directors of legal affairs" from among police officers and judges have been introduced. Their task is to create and manage personal files for students with an assessment of the degree of potential "risk" coming from each child.
Officially, the emergence of a new surveillance system is explained by the need to take care of the well-being and safety of the population. The authorities claim that this will make it possible to respond more quickly to any public requests and quickly solve everyday problems of citizens, without bringing the case to the courts. Conflicts will allegedly be settled by special party mediators.
However, there are concerns that in fact the main goal of the project is to prevent the slightest criticism of the Communist Party and its leadership — even on minor, apolitical issues. Experts warn that such total control over the life of society can ultimately cause serious damage to the authority and legitimacy of the authorities in the eyes of the people.
Despite occasional protests against tighter restrictions and a worsening economic situation, Xi is determined to extend the new repressive model to the entire country.
The party also issued the first top-level special instructions for dealing with the large civilian surveillance staff. They contain norms of enhanced indoctrination and a strict system of rewards and punishments for newly minted "caretakers".
One of the main achievements of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the ideologists of the Communist Party, was the creation of an extensive camera system that allows you to track the movements of citizens. Now the leader wants to consolidate the skills of such monitoring on a long-term basis.
Analysts also fear that such tight civil and security controls could seriously stifle the economic activity and social dynamism that Beijing needs to overcome the current crisis.
Even now, some entrepreneurs complain that the constant patrolling of streets by police and municipal inspectors hinders their activities. For example, a woman who sells fried chicken in the capital's Zhangjiawan suburb, which has become a role model in implementing the "Fengqiao Experience", cannot pay rent for three months. The reason is the authorities ' ban on installing her mobile tent on the sidewalk.
"If the economy suffers, there will be security problems," the woman says. "People have to earn a living. If they get nervous about the lack of funds, the situation will get out of hand."
According to state media, the first cases of open dissatisfaction with the authorities 'measures caused by citizens' financial difficulties have already appeared. For example, in Zhangjiawan, local residents also oppose the forced demolition of old villages for the construction of a new tourist zone.
98% of almost 1,700 families eventually agreed to move after representatives of the district administration went around all residents more than 1,600 times with persuasions and explanations. However, several families, dissatisfied with the amount of compensation, continued to protest.
"They don't have a normal dialogue with people, they just exhaust them with constant pressure," said one of the remaining residents, surnamed Mu. According to her, at night, groups of strangers were on duty at their house to intimidate, and during the demolition of neighboring buildings, the water supply was turned off. The highest authorities in this situation do not provide any help.
The case of prominent human rights activist Wang Quanzhang, who was released in 2020 after more than four years in prison, was also significant. Since his release, his movements in Beijing have been constantly monitored by 30 to 40 police and civilian observers.
Several homeowners have already evicted Wang Quanzhang from his rented apartments. The authorities also pressured school administrators not to accept his 11-year-old son. "We didn't think that if they couldn't expel us from Beijing, they would start harassing our child," the human rights activist laments. "The situation has only worsened since the pandemic."
However, the main obstacle to expanding the control system may be the huge costs necessary for this. There are already early signs that the creation of an army of civilian observers and supervisors is beginning to put a heavy burden on local government finances.
Some grassroots party cadres and police officers are already openly voicing complaints on social media about excessive workload and overworking in connection with the new duties of civil supervision. In the context of slowing economic growth, the maintenance of such a surveillance system can become an unbearable burden for regional budgets.
