China looms large and its watchful gaze touches every corner. The Surveillance Terminal Plaza stands here a place where the narrative of mass monitoring unfolds.
This plaza exists within a country that has built an extensive network to keep an eye on its citizens. Think of it as one small piece of a giant puzzle.
Mass surveillance in China isn’t new. Its roots stretch back to the Maoist era. After 1949, the government began building systems of control. In those early days, before computers and the internet, surveillance relied on word of mouth. People watched each other. They reported anything deemed inappropriate.
The digital age brought new tools. In 2005, the government launched Skynet. By 2013, it had over 20 million cameras. These cameras weren’t just in public areas. They were outside mosques, temples, and the homes of dissidents. Even feminists and LGBT groups faced increased scrutiny.
By 2018, mass camera surveillance was everywhere. Internet activity was tracked. New methods based on social credit and identity emerged. Facial recognition tech, surveillance drones, and robot police joined the ranks. Big data collection targeted online social media.
Edward Snowden called China’s surveillance “utterly mind-boggling”. By 2019, China had an estimated 200 million CCTV cameras. That is four times as many as the United States. State media boasted that Skynet was the world’s largest video surveillance system. It used facial recognition and big data analysis.
Estimates say that China held 415.8 million of the world’s 770 million surveillance cameras in 2019. The government claims this prevents crime. But citizens worry about compromised data and privacy.
China’s control extends to the internet. With over 750 million internet users, online actions are strictly regulated. Platforms like blogs and social media are managed by party-approved staff. These staff must get approval from government internet offices. Major internet platforms use self-censorship. Some have teams of thousands policing content.
WeChat, China’s most popular messaging app, is under surveillance. Every message sent through a WeChat group is monitored. All conversations are stored for six months. Even deleted conversations can be retrieved.
Users once used VPNs to bypass censorship. But, the government cracked down. It required telecommunications carriers to block individual access to VPNs.
Even in Hong Kong, surveillance is growing. The Hong Kong government plans to install 2,000 more cameras in the city. Officials claim the current numbers are “relatively small”. They might also use facial recognition.
Here at Surveillance Terminal Plaza, consider the implications. The desire for security versus the right to privacy is a balance. It is a balance that defines modern China. The all-seeing eye is watching. The question is how does it affect daily lives? How does it affect freedom of expression?