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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

China today ...here tomorrow??

27 replies

Jayfee · 28/12/2018 17:23

BBC radio yesterday had an item about a trial they are going to extend in China..Citizens can be classified AAA,AA,A,B,C,D. Each citizen starts with 1000 points. Extra points can be earned e.g.sweeping the pavement, doing voluntary work or lost e.g.minor traffic offence, having a messy yard. Earning extra points can lead to treats such as a private medical. Only Communist party members ever get the top grades. Sounds horrendous to me, but with the Russians interfering with our politics it seems anything could happen here unless we get a grip somehow.

OP posts:

Original poster

Jayfee · 28/12/2018 18:09

Any one fancy this in the future?

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StoorieHoose · 28/12/2018 18:11

Think they have been watching Black Mirror to get that idea!

maskingtape · 28/12/2018 18:14

To be honest, things that would get some people behaving like a decent citizen wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea.

brizzledrizzle · 28/12/2018 18:18

It sounds similar to the DPRK songbun in some ways with the privileges being for the 'elite'

StoneofDestiny · 28/12/2018 18:36

Crap idea - particularly in a 'communist' system where they like to pretend everybody is equal - but funnily enough Communist Party members get to be more equal than others 🙄

Original poster

Jayfee · 28/12/2018 18:40

Maskingtape we would all be watching each other and reporting to the authorities.

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brizzledrizzle · 28/12/2018 18:45

Maskingtape we would all be watching each other and reporting to the authorities.

That's exactly what is expected of people in the DPRK.

MrsMWA · 28/12/2018 18:48

It is real, it has been happening for a while and it is horrendous. Living with no rights at all is a reality for the people of the PRC. Most people in the west are very naive about what life is like in China. Your score affects everything especially if you are allowed to travel, buy train tickets etc.

RebelWitchFace · 28/12/2018 18:50

From experience I know it won't work. Decent people will still be decent and occasionally get shafted or worse. Cheating,awful power hungry people will find different ways to be cheating,awful people and gain some brownie points doing it.

StoneofDestiny · 28/12/2018 18:50

.....having said that, we like to believe we live in a Democracy in the UK but have families who have unbelievable privilege by birth or marriage alone - ie the 'royal' families.....growing bigger every day. Just as wrong.

Ylvamoon · 28/12/2018 18:53

Hummm... you already get points for traffic offences
you are already liable for "your" pat of the pavement when it is covered in snow.
You can go to a private hospital (in our area on the NHS).
Nope it's just not viable in a democracy... yet.

StoneofDestiny · 28/12/2018 18:54

MrsMWA - it happens in more countries that we like to think - a few we'll known ones - Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, Russia, India... .......and so many more. Corruption and 'hierarchies' deny civil rights to ordinary people.

Original poster

Jayfee · 28/12/2018 18:59

I feel that for example,when we know the Russians manipulated our social media during the Brexit vote, and China is a big player in technological espionage, anything can happen if we don't guard our freedoms. I have always minimised and dismissed any conspiracy theories but I am beginning to wonder whether I am right in that. The world seems very dark at the moment.

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Justanotherlurker · 28/12/2018 19:15

Russians manipulated our social media during the Brexit vote

They paid for a few targeted ads when you look into it. If you want to go the 'muh Russia's route you need to be looking at the hard left as they are the ones with a soft spot.

Good old russian apologist Seamus Milne is the ear of the quite senior in the labour party

We may sleep walk into a police state, but we will certainly not go down the China route

Original poster

Jayfee · 28/12/2018 19:19

I think it is the police state aspect that concerns me.

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macaroniandpizza · 28/12/2018 19:21

The thought of this being implemented here is one that makes me very uneasy indeed

StoneofDestiny · 28/12/2018 19:27

I'm talking about what Russia does to its own people, and how privileged the Communist Party members are compared to ordinary citizens - and how money oils wheels in regional government, police, education, health care etc that affects the ordinary citizens the most.

Their international propaganda and warmongering ..........I'd hate to compare it with the US and UK because they are all at it. Look how Trump stuck his nose into Brexit.

TheDarkPassenger · 28/12/2018 19:38

When I was skint and in the depths of debt and losing my home, unmedicated bipolar with a gp who didn’t have time nor resources to care until it was full blown breakdown etc I did find it horrific that I was such a kind, nice person who did anything for anyone for nothing and I got absolutely zero rewards from it, just continued to be fucked over by the system.

As it happens I just turned into an absolute bitch instead and clawed my way through life and through people, to get myself back on my feet.

I actually think this would solve a few problems, rewarding people for doing good things.

Original poster

Jayfee · 28/12/2018 20:02

I am rewatching McMafia. Excellent series and a warning of how it is now but IMO it could get a lot lot worse after Brexit.

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Craft1905 · 28/12/2018 21:37

Think they have been watching Black Mirror to get that idea!

Yes, the Nosedive episode.

thenightsky · 28/12/2018 21:43

DD works in China a lot. Cameras in the streets watch everyone and have facial recognition. Nobody crosses the road on a red light, even if there is no traffic. Everyone obeys because they are being watched.

Original poster

Jayfee · 28/12/2018 21:51

I've never seen Black Mirror..perhaps I should seek it out.

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Printerneedsink · 28/12/2018 21:59

They could put a camera into your Alexa to make sure you're well behaved at home...we already have trackers in cars that give you cheaper insurance if you are a good driver

hooveringhamabeads · 28/12/2018 22:19

It all sounds horrendous and very 1984.

A friend of mine recently travelled around China and said it was awful - she’d never seen people looking so downtrodden and repressed. WhatsApp and Facebook are banned, but there is another app similar to WhatsApp that is government approved and constantly monitored. Any ‘inappropriate’ messages are intercepted and not sent, for example their guide had to message someone to find out why the road into a city they were visiting was closed. The first half of the reply came but then just stopped - not allowed. My friend said that they saw some really sad stuff regarding the way people were treating but if any of this was raised with their (young, female) guide, she would freeze and terror and repeat the same things like a mantra - our government is good to us, our government treats us well etc, she was far too scared to say anything to the contrary.

brizzledrizzle · 28/12/2018 23:05

How much control goes on is obvious when you watch documentaries such as Michael palin in the DPRK and see how good it all looks and compare it to the many books written by defectors who all tell much the same kind of story. Defectors who, right now, are probably worried sick for the safety of their families thanks to hackers.

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