China’s New Internet ID Shows Xi’s Insecurities
The system will leave the Communist Party flying blind, unable to spot emerging socioeconomic problems or move to resolve them.
China’s paranoia-inspired policy
Photographer: Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images
Paranoia is deeply woven into the genetic codes of dictatorships of all stripes, but some are more neurotic than others. The Chinese Communist Party unquestionably belongs in this category.
An excessive sense of insecurity often drives such regimes to impose strict social controls to make themselves safer. Paradoxically, policies designed to protect dictators from their own people sometimes accomplish the opposite. The latest illustration of the CCP’s paranoia-inspired scheme of social control is a new plan to establish a national internet ID that, when fully enforced, will allow police and party censors to identify internet users and track their online activities.