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The centralization of digital payments in China is absolutely terrifying. Everything is controlled by this one magic app - WeChat in China. I had a hard time st

The centralization of digital payments in China is absolutely terrifying. Everything is controlled by this one magic app - WeChat in China. I had a hard time staying there for 3 contiguous months, finally had to get a burner phone and install WeChat. Because, I was crippled without it. Ofcourse, everything is linked the moment you get a SIM Card with your photo/passport. This isn't that surprising, most countries have policies to check ID before handing you a SIM Card. OTPs are then generated against that phone and then the entire ecosystem is tracking you. Your entire life is in WeChat. Fuck everything about that. I'll take hard, cold, paper cash anyday.

mav3rick 7y ago
It's magical when it works. Everyone who has been to China loves it. Cash also means tax evasion.
- spectramax 7y ago
  It is also magical to not be able to hold a protest against the government, openly criticize, make fun of their president, rally up anti-government support, etc. I am happy to forgo conveniences for privacy and freedom. But those two concepts do not exist in China.
  - Animats 7y ago
    They haven't existed in China back to the days of the emperors. The control system used to be village-oriented and paper-based, but that didn't scale. Urbanization reduced control. That problem has been fixed. The US is getting there. Starting October 1, 2020, "RealID", or a higher level ID like a passport or Global Entry card, will be required for US domestic air travel. And entry to Federal buildings, military bases, etc. As yet, it's not required for employment.
    - spectramax 7y ago
      "The US is getting there" Hmm... last I checked, I can protest, sue the government, flip a bird to the president and question authorities when they pull me over for a probable cause, go to court, have a fair trail, escalate to supreme court, all while being able to have the right to vote politicians out, hold free press and have the freedom of speech. I am not saying that there aren't issues in the US, and we should fearlessly debate, take action and challenge. Organizations such as EFF are doing that. But let's not compare this with China to smear out the massive surveillance program China has going for them. Please keep these issues separate. It is frustrating to be able to not criticize the Chinese government as people bring up issues about US government. Foo is bad, but look at Bar and Baz - they are doing bad things too. So, Foo is justified? In general, digitization is worrying for every nation because it may have benevolent cause today, but information doesn't rot and it will bite us decades into the future if not today. In US, in EU, in Africa, in Asia, in the world.
    - Lio 7y ago
      In America you can laugh at Donald Trump’s hands all you like. In China you can’t share memes that compare Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh. As long as that stays true America isn’t there yet and there is hope.
      - blaser-waffle 7y ago
        Not even memes, any image of Winnie the Poo. Growing fascist tendencies in the US are a concern, but there is no question you have more freedoms in the US.
jbay808 7y ago
It must be amazing, having data logging almost every financial transaction by almost every individual in the country. There are a lot of powerful ways that could be used. Both good and bad.

mav3rick 7y ago

It's magical when it works. Everyone who has been to China loves it. Cash also means tax evasion.

spectramax 7y ago
It is also magical to not be able to hold a protest against the government, openly criticize, make fun of their president, rally up anti-government support, etc. I am happy to forgo conveniences for privacy and freedom. But those two concepts do not exist in China.
- Animats 7y ago
  They haven't existed in China back to the days of the emperors. The control system used to be village-oriented and paper-based, but that didn't scale. Urbanization reduced control. That problem has been fixed. The US is getting there. Starting October 1, 2020, "RealID", or a higher level ID like a passport or Global Entry card, will be required for US domestic air travel. And entry to Federal buildings, military bases, etc. As yet, it's not required for employment.
  - spectramax 7y ago
    "The US is getting there" Hmm... last I checked, I can protest, sue the government, flip a bird to the president and question authorities when they pull me over for a probable cause, go to court, have a fair trail, escalate to supreme court, all while being able to have the right to vote politicians out, hold free press and have the freedom of speech. I am not saying that there aren't issues in the US, and we should fearlessly debate, take action and challenge. Organizations such as EFF are doing that. But let's not compare this with China to smear out the massive surveillance program China has going for them. Please keep these issues separate. It is frustrating to be able to not criticize the Chinese government as people bring up issues about US government. Foo is bad, but look at Bar and Baz - they are doing bad things too. So, Foo is justified? In general, digitization is worrying for every nation because it may have benevolent cause today, but information doesn't rot and it will bite us decades into the future if not today. In US, in EU, in Africa, in Asia, in the world.
  - Lio 7y ago
    In America you can laugh at Donald Trump’s hands all you like. In China you can’t share memes that compare Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh. As long as that stays true America isn’t there yet and there is hope.
    - blaser-waffle 7y ago
      Not even memes, any image of Winnie the Poo. Growing fascist tendencies in the US are a concern, but there is no question you have more freedoms in the US.

jbay808 7y ago

It must be amazing, having data logging almost every financial transaction by almost every individual in the country. There are a lot of powerful ways that could be used. Both good and bad.