China Celebrates Social Credit System Blocking People from over 11 Million Flights
China’s state-run Global Times newspaper reported on Monday that over 11.14 million instances of individuals not being able to board flights – and 4.25 million similar incidents on trains – had occurred “by the end of April.”
Since the same person could attempt to board a flight or train and have officials deny them more than once, it is likely that the number of individuals banned from traveling is slightly lower than the number of instances in which the government has blocked travel.
The Global Times proclaims the millions of cases of government officials using the “social credit system” to ground travelers a success of the system, which closely monitors the behavior of all individuals, assigning a numerical value to how beneficial to the Chinese communist state each person is. People considered loyal, law-abiding members of the Communist Party are assigned high social credit scores, while those who violate the law, behave in irritating ways in public, or are suspected of engaging in dissident activity are assigned lower scores.
China has not yet made clear how the numerical system works or where the cut-off score is to be prevented from flying or riding trains.
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Prosecutors filed a lawsuit against an individual for spreading rumours online
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Said individual is accused of slandering a firefighter who died in the line of duty
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The fireman is said to have given away his respirator and is declared a martyr
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This is the first such case after China passed law on the protection of heroes
Chinese prosecutors have filed a lawsuit against an individual who is accused of slandering a late fireman deemed as a martyr.
The individual, identified only by the surname Zeng, is said to have made ‘defamatory’ and ‘truthful’ speeches on social media against firefighter Xie Yong.
Xie, 21, fell to his death from a high-rise building while trying to put out a fire on May 12 in Huai’an, eastern China’s Jiangsu Province.