This is already the case in Xinjiang, via a mandatory app on your phone.
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Yep, and that actually touches on the problem with authoritarian structures in general which is that all authoritarianism is, by definition, arbitrary. A person is only “in charge” if people treat them as such. Authoritarianism relies on the threat of punishment, often physical, in order to assert what is ultimately an arbitrary hierarchy.
An example from my childhood, “because I said so and non-compliance will be punished” makes sense up until you get old enough and aware enough to think, “yes, but you’re clearly an alcoholic who is self-medicating a lifetime of depression and anxiety, so forgive me if I don’t entirely trust your judgment.” Once that is unsealed, it won’t go back in, and people have a hard time with that, especially kids.
It has been my experience that strict, authoritarian parents set themselves up for problems by putting themselves on an inaccessible pedestal of some form or another. Sometimes the pedestal is made up of unobtainable standards, an idea so well known and so well explored it needs no further explanation. Other times, the pedestal is just plain old distance–no matter how good you are, you can only ever get so close, be it because of fear of their imperfections being discovered, or actually lacking the ability to have a healthy relationship.
In my case it was mostly the latter, but it was often dressed up as the former. It was generally easier for my parents to pretend they had impossibly high standards for behavior and academics (standards that we knew they didn’t keep themselves to) than it was for them to let their kids get close enough to see them as human. If they’re human, they’re flawed, which would undermine the basis upon which their authority was built. Any time that appeared threatened, the distance was pushed further and the punishments made more severe.
What my parents got out of me was less rebellion, and more disinterest. In my case, I was naturally inclined toward being independent and not wanting/needing support. If they weren’t going to be fair, then I wasn’t going to involve them in my life and that’s basically just how it was and continues to be even as they’ve aged. The silver lining is that my detachment seems to have softened the path for my younger siblings–turns out, when you tell your 18 year old that they’re not welcome under either of of your roofs and that 18 year old says, “okay” and leaves for several years without making any effort whatsoever to contact you, it apparently triggers some self-reevaluation. My younger siblings ended up with different parents than the ones I had, still not great, but improved versions, and that’s a net win as far as I’m concerned.
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Anyone else feel like this is all in preparation for when the Chinese economy begins to really slow down, and the population becomes restless? Right now, they don’t have another Tienanmen on their hands, but what about when food is incredibly expensive, or graduates can’t find jobs?
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Apparently what the CCP fears the most is a rebellion “from within”. They are replacing state leaders with party leaders left and right. The main issues of debate seem to be whether or not China is actually communist and the CCP works for the people? Obviously not, but any critique from leaders within is accompanied with a speedy replacement in recent months.
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This is so much less efficient than the American way of just enabling geotracking on our kids’ phones. U S A! U S A!
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Oh? Hmm, that would be a tricky problem.
can withstand temperatures of up to 150 degrees Celsius
What are they doing in school?
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American tech companies require their employees to wear remotely-readable badges and use face recognition to ensure that the employees coming into the building are using their own badges. Is this less evil because employment is optional, and because it’s a corporation rather than a government, and because it’s purportedly only for safety and security theater?
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And allows for the tracking and identifying of kids to help assess the efficacy of emergency drills. Ooh, and it’ll be able to tell if the uniform is being used to conceal a weapon. And immediately signal 911 if it detects gunfire. Because it’s all about keeping the kids safe!
You can assume deep and bitter sarcasm
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Counterpoint: I was one of those kids. Why? Because I was quick and would quite honestly have run off to play in traffic. This was long before doing so became mainstream. My sister didn’t need it, so she didn’t wear one.
So do not blame my mother for doing what was necessary to keep her kid alive. There were two of us and one of her, and I had a habit of wandering off from the moment I was able to walk. Discipline only goes so far when you’re dealing with an ADHD kid. Damn straight she took measures to make sure I wouldn’t disappear if she took two seconds to wipe my sister’s runny nose, and trust me, that’s all the time it would take for me to be gone. And it wasn’t over-protective, either, because we were pretty much free-range, once we could be trusted to literally not just run out into the street.
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While this is really lousy news for those kids, the potential of this tech for people with alzheimer’s and dementia can be quite groundbreaking.
I mean a few days ago around where I lived a 71 year old man with alzheimer’s went missing (they found his body in a pond near his house). Just imagine how many lives could be saved from clothes like this. A search that could last for days could be shortened down to within minutes.
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Sorry. Wong number.
I don’t know. This particular system probably has limited range to reduce power requirements. (There’s no mention of charging the chips.) If it’s RF-powered RFID, very short range, AFAIK. They might be able to get away with only scanning at doorways or payment check-outs in a school environment. (Unless it’s a “school for gifted youngsters”.)
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By the looks of it, this is a small local trial program, not a nationwide thing.
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Exactly how does this differ from US schools that track student movements with RFID cards?
- The Epoch Times is not a reliable source.
Propaganda in the service of Trump’s trade war.
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More likely to go national?
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(inserts tongue into cheek)
That’s because not everyone in China can afford an Android/iPhone. So they have to track the children by other methods.
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What, doesn’t everyone fry-clean their clothing in the microwave?
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What? I thought most BB’ers owned air cooled VWs that were converted to run on ethanol or E85?
While the convertible I own isn’t the most practical and needs some work, it’ll get the job done.
