The risks of teaming up with Big Brother to protect health, 18 June 2020

...For decades, [China] had to satisfy the inherent security obsession of any dictatorship with in-person surveillance methods, but technological development now provides it with the means to keep a close watch over its 1.4 billion inhabitants. This arsenal of surveillance technology has proved indispensable in the war against coronavirus, not only in China but also in Asian countries with democratic forms of government. Their success (low death toll, according to official figures) has fuelled debate about how much technological surveillance is acceptable in the name of health...

China’s president, Xi Jinping, said “the victory against the virus cannot be achieved without the support of science and technology” and the ministry in charge called for help from the private sector within days. Not surprisingly, companies jumped at the opportunity...

[refers to SenseTime, Dahua Technology, China Unicom, China Telecom]