China building blueprint for digital dictatorship through its surveillance security: Report

Manila [Philippines], November 4 : China is building a blueprint for a digital dictatorship under the garb of exporting surveillance security for smart cities, according to a report in The Manila Times.
As per the report, China's smart cities initiative is a danger to freedom, it is probably one of the best real-world examples of how a politician can use a "dictatorship in a box" solution to get and maintain political success.
It cannot be a coincidence that just before the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, China President Xi Jinping had said that "whoever controls data has the upper hand," reported The Manila Times.
Xi is on a technological quest to build what some call a blueprint for a digital dictatorship. Smart cities are a hype, which may not have to do with only China.
The partner countries involved in the project would not only allow China to monitor huge volumes of data on their own citizens but also on those from other countries, who are on personal or business trips.
They will also be helping China to become a global leader in exporting its authoritarian surveillance technology to other like-minded regimes.
If a big quantity of data is combined with AI, the result is surveillance tools, which the government may use, reported The Manila Times.
China launched the BRI program calling it a global project to connect 150 countries with a network of roads and rail like the historic Silk route.
However, the BRI fell short of expectations and has not delivered as expected. Then there is a trust deficit with China because host countries are sceptical of participation, reported The Manila Times.
Moreover, the Chinese government is equipped with laws, which enable it to access data from any device. The Chinese companies make available all their customer data to the government for inclusion in the social credit score.
Also, Chinese companies and nationals also participate in the country's espionage project. So, anyone connected to the BRI is part of the Chinese national surveillance project, reported The Manila Times.
John Strand is a leading expert in the security of mobile telecom networks. His report on the use of Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese government technology in 102 European mobile networks was a critical element in developing the EU's 5G toolbox, reported The Manila Times.
In addition to the technical security elements of networks, John studies the policies and practices of the Chinese government and their effort to influence international technology development.
He said that China does not appear to be slowing its rollout of surveillance, which is embedded in all goods and services it exports.