(TibetanReview.net, September 28, 2022) – Besides requiring its local-level policing system, China has said that one of its many purposes for amassing DNA samples from Tibetan people is “control of the people,” noted the biometricupdate.com Sep 27
Beijing’s standard justifications for its biometric surveillance activities across the People’s Republic of China (PRC) increase public security, maintain social stability, and more. But in the case of the DNA collection from Tibetans — technically illegal under Chinese law — authorities were candid, citing “population control” among their reasons, the report said.
The report notes that in Tibet, China appears to be using the playbook it deployed in the Xinjiang region, where DNA collection among Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities preceded a massive campaign of detention and of forced labor.
Finger pricks have become common among groups ranging from monks to schoolchildren, the report says, citing The Economist.
The report also cites researchers from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto who say Chinese authorities may have already collected DNA from up to 35% of the Tibetan population.
Across the PRC, Beijing appears to be stepping up its collection of biometric data, amid reports of increased surveillance and scrutiny of citizens. Bracelets that track emotions; facial recognition scans used to record students’ moods; the occasional DNA cataloging of Tibetans: All of these scenarios would fit nicely into a sci-fi spy movie – but they are becoming the daily reality of ordinary Chinese, the report notes.
China, already the most surveilled country in the world, is pursuing even more control over digital ID and biometric data. In Beijing, 1,800 haptic bracelets have already been distributed to long-distance bus drivers, to monitor vital signs such as heart rate and blood oxygen. The city’s public transport authority plans to deploy an additional 5,000 police driver behavior “recognition systems”, the report adds.