China still feels worlds apart to me, even on a day-to-day basis. Here are some examples in tech: * Connecting to free WiFi at the airport? Need to provide ID.

China still feels worlds apart to me, even on a day-to-day basis. Here are some examples in tech: * Connecting to free WiFi at the airport? Need to provide ID. * Want to set up a website? Need to apply for a license with the government and provide a local Chinese ID. * Want to use Aliyun (the equivalent of AWS)? Need to provide ID. I also suspect this information transmission is two-way. I am fairly certain private institutions in China have gotten my information from the government. The U.S. has problems. Many problems. But the scary thing about China is it's way way out there, and most people seem fine with it. The Overton Window is leaps and bounds ahead of the U.S. A vending machine is asking for your personal information to buy a soda (because all transactions are done through cellphone and they request permission from Alipay before you can pay)? Why not. I really want the soda (real example). No one bats an eye. And from an economic perspective it works! People like it; China's growing. And wow it makes things convenient for all parties involved (apart from annoying problems when first registering)! This makes other countries sit up and take notice and maybe think about adapting it for themselves.