Saw some dunktank posts mocking lib social credit system propaganda. Was wondering if someone could explain the actual system. I know all the US propaganda on it is bullshit, just wondering what the actual policy is, mostly so i can tell libs, or better yet potential comrades with questions about China based in weird propaganda they heard.

  • PzkM [he/him]
    ·
    1 year ago

    The simple answer is that "social credit" is a both a policy framework and broad initiative adopted by the Chinese government aimed at enforcing market regulations, implementing a corporate credit system, increasing institutional credibility, and ultimately becoming a building block1 for the construction of a "harmonious socialist society". It's the evolving result of decades of (usually campaign-style) policies implemented to control and prevent corruption and corporate malfeasance. China's growing domestic consumption market also created the need for a centralized financial credit system.

    Scope of social credit

    • Businesses
    • Individuals
    • Government institutions

    Examples of corporate SCS mechanisms

    • National Credit Information Sharing Platform (NCISP). Operated by the state planning agency, meant to integrate all national/regional corporate regulatory data. Here's the website where you can search for specific entities and whether they have been penalized: https://www.gsxt.gov.cn/index.html. And here's a web portal for more: https://www.creditchina.gov.cn/
    • Unified Social Credit Code. Number assigned to corporate entities.
    • Blacklists. These are produced by government agencies according to their jurisdiction. These cover a range of violations and infractions. To my knowledge, no national blacklist (or analogue) exists at the present.
    • Punishment/reward system. The entity is penalized by agencies connected to the NCISP within their powers. Here's a list of approved punishments (including punishments for individuals).

    That should be enough for a basic overview of the current state of SCS. I didn't go over the experimental pilot programs because those have only ever been implemented at a municipal level and it seems that their methods (such as point scoring system) have been rejected by the national government. There is no indication that the national government is interested in tracking the violations of social norms by individuals.

    You can find more primary sources on Chinalawtranslate and Stanford's DigiChina.

    1. SCS planning document
    • invalidusernamelol [he/him]
      ·
      1 year ago

      Like 90% of those punishments are stuff like "restriction on owning and operating a private mining company for a set period of time or life" and "limited access to positions on state planning boards for mining and extractive industry " lol

      There's a section with some punishments that cut you off from subsidized transit, but other than that it's an absolute walk in the park compared to American credit scores. Unless you're a rich mine owner who's exploiting workers...