China’s social credit system is becoming a reality

Local governments are scrambling to realize Beijing’s sweeping vision

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A city notice board in Rongcheng displaying model citizens with high social credit scores. (Picture: Nectar Gan/South China Morning Post)

Published: 4:00pm, 10 Jul 2019Updated: 9:08am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

In China, you can tell that a government project is a big deal when it gets its own theme song and music video. This year, that honor goes to the social credit system, scheduled to be in full effect by 2020 according to the China Internet Report 2019.

Detailed in a policy document published in 2014, social credit is intended as a carrot-and-stick mechanism for the country’s more than 1.4 billion citizens. It punishes individuals and businesses who fail to follow rules and regulations, and it awards those who perform actions deemed beneficial to society. Eventually, the plan is to rate everyone by their financial and legal records, as well as various aspects of social participation from online behavior to employment histories.

With less than a year to go before the scheduled national rollout, we’re already seeing pieces of the system in action. But contrary to the grand vision offered by state planners, these projects are often introduced with little fanfare and met with widespread disregard. When people do take notice, the projects are sometimes met with skepticism and scorn.

Just this month, police in the eastern metropolis of Nanjing began penalizing frequent traffic offenders by downrating their social credit. Citizens who jaywalk five times or more in a year will be deemed “untrustworthy.” They will be summoned for talks with authorities or receive a warning. More serious offenders will be registered in a public database and face punishment from various government agencies.

The move triggered plenty of questions online.