The Perfect Police State: An Undercover Odyssey into China's Terrifying Surveillance Dystopia of the Future
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- Author：Geoffrey Cain
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Summary
A riveting investigation into how a restive region of China became the site of a nightmare Orwellian social experiment—the definitive police state—and the global technology giants that made it possible
Blocked from facts and truth， under constant surveillance， surrounded by a hostile alien police force: Xinjiang’s Uyghur population has become cursed， oppressed， outcast。 Most citizens cannot discern between enemy and friend。 Social trust has been destroyed systematically。 Friends betray each other， bosses snitch on employees， teachers expose their students， and children turn on their parents。 Everyone is dependent on a government that nonetheless treats them with suspicion and contempt。 Welcome to the Perfect Police State。
Using the haunting story of one young woman’s attempt to escape the vicious technological dystopia， his own reporting from Xinjiang， and extensive firsthand testimony from exiles， Geoffrey Cain reveals the extraordinary intrusiveness and power of the tech surveillance giants and the chilling implications for all our futures。
Blocked from facts and truth， under constant surveillance， surrounded by a hostile alien police force: Xinjiang’s Uyghur population has become cursed， oppressed， outcast。 Most citizens cannot discern between enemy and friend。 Social trust has been destroyed systematically。 Friends betray each other， bosses snitch on employees， teachers expose their students， and children turn on their parents。 Everyone is dependent on a government that nonetheless treats them with suspicion and contempt。 Welcome to the Perfect Police State。
Using the haunting story of one young woman’s attempt to escape the vicious technological dystopia， his own reporting from Xinjiang， and extensive firsthand testimony from exiles， Geoffrey Cain reveals the extraordinary intrusiveness and power of the tech surveillance giants and the chilling implications for all our futures。
Reviews
Nick
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“We live in a digital prison”。 A short， succinct， and haunting story of what is happening in Xinjiang。
Barry Welsh
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5 stars。 Excellent。 Cain's a great writer。 Highly recommended 5 stars。 Excellent。 Cain's a great writer。 Highly recommended 。。。more
Wick Welker
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George Orwell eat your heart out。The Orwellian nightmare is finally fulfilled in the region of Xinjiang in China。 Don’t get me wrong， there have been a lot of totalitarian surveillance states that have had a good crack at it （including the US）， but the CCP has created the perfect blend of a ruthless AI， state propaganda， incompetent but loyal police and an unquestioning proletariat。 In all seriousness， The Perfect Police State is a terrifying glimpse into the grave human rights violations that o George Orwell eat your heart out。The Orwellian nightmare is finally fulfilled in the region of Xinjiang in China。 Don’t get me wrong， there have been a lot of totalitarian surveillance states that have had a good crack at it （including the US）， but the CCP has created the perfect blend of a ruthless AI， state propaganda， incompetent but loyal police and an unquestioning proletariat。 In all seriousness， The Perfect Police State is a terrifying glimpse into the grave human rights violations that occurring to the Xinjiang among the native Muslim Uyghur。Through a series of interviews that seemed to have gone through a rigorous vetting process， the author gives first hand accounts of individuals that have spent time in one of the the roughly 260 Xinjiang interment camps where nothing other than abject torture， state indoctrination and dehumanization are currently being inflicted on what the CCP sees as an inferior ethnicity to exploit and replace for the current labor shortages in China。 And what’s the excuse the CCP makes to hold these people？ Terrorist panic and islamophobia。 Sounds familiar…The concept of the panopticon is introduced wherein prisoner inmate cells are built in a rotunda around a single but hidden guard。 In this way， the guard can watch any one prisoner at any time while the prisoners have no idea when they are being observed but know that they can be surveilled at any moment and thus are compelled to regulate their own behavior。 This is the surveillance state that the CCP has created in Xinjiang。Here’s what it looks like: a young Muslim woman from Xinjiang who has been studying for her master in Turkey arrives back in China to visit her mother。 They live in a 10 home block where a state designated civilian neighbor makes routine checks on their behavior with daily interviews and questioning。 If this state sanctioned neighbor detects anything unusual， she tells the police。 One day， the neighbor informs the young women that a security camera will be placed in their living room， no questions asked。 They are not allowed to pray or exercise any religious rites whatsoever or will be deemed untrustworthy。 The woman is then selected for a mandatory physical where they take her DNA and take pictures of her with various facial expressions for their AI algorithms。 Women like her are also forced to take birth control。 Simply by virtue of receiving education in Turkey， the woman is then arrested and taken to re-education classes。 After she refuses to clean windows， she’s taken to a full blown concentration camp where she is physically and psychologically tortured and indoctrinated with CCP propaganda。Surveillance is everywhere but the metrics and data are opaque and it’s uncertain how they are being used。 American tech companies are complicit and by that virtue， so are American consumers and basically the entire American economy at this point。Good old fashion totalitarianism had the bug of human compassion that could compromise the system but with an AI， the CCP have created a disimpassioned and ruthless algorithm from designed to detect “criminals” and strip them of their humanity。 And this is how we get “predictive policing”， the CCPs wording， not mine。 And no this is not the screenplay to Minority Report， this is life in Xinjiang。And this is the genius of the panopticon approach: the surveillance is widespread （4x as many state security cameras as the US）， poorly understood and with the false perception of flawless AI targeting。 The people of Xinjiang have no idea what is the correct or criminal behavior to trigger the AI for targeting。 They don’t know if all the data being collected is even being used。 But none of that matters， what does matter is that they self regulate with fear and thus come under state control and take part in the Social Credit System where they are scored on trustworthiness and gain or lose social capital based on the score。 The CCP has essentially created a state-sponsored grading system in the Social Credit System where you are rated。 If you have low Social Credit， you can be denied housing， computer access， flights and much more。 Is it any wonder that the bourgeoisie of China approve of this system？ Whatever insulates and protects the ruling class will have their endorsement， human rights violations be damned。 And with the CCP we have flawless authoritarian rule: scapegoating of a lower class and "inferior" ethnicity who have no stake in existing power。 You take these "weakers" and fracture them from the middle class， creating division with fear psychology invoking protection against terrorism。 You seize tech resources by international coercion and create a state of "unknowing" where truth becomes contextual and qualified only by the State。 With the CCP we now have a new beast: widespread surveillance on par with a science fiction novel that does not have human discrimination and likely written with extreme bias in its algorithms。 This is real--this is Xinjiang and it is happening right now。Read this book right now。 。。。more
Venky
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In the year 1956， bestselling American science fiction author， Philip K。 Dick penned a disturbing dystopia titled “The Minority Report。” The plot has at its nub a perverse system having the capability to ‘predict’ an ensuing crime。 Three mutants or ‘precogs’ are plugged into a gigantic machine。 Having the capability and foresight to ‘predict’ all crimes before they even happen， these precogs feed information about future crimes to a specialised police department， imaginatively named ‘Precrime。’ In the year 1956， bestselling American science fiction author， Philip K。 Dick penned a disturbing dystopia titled “The Minority Report。” The plot has at its nub a perverse system having the capability to ‘predict’ an ensuing crime。 Three mutants or ‘precogs’ are plugged into a gigantic machine。 Having the capability and foresight to ‘predict’ all crimes before they even happen， these precogs feed information about future crimes to a specialised police department， imaginatively named ‘Precrime。’ Armed with such information， Precrime officers are invested with the requisite powers to arrest and detail all ‘potential’ perpetrators before they can even engage in any mischief。 Even the most prescient and pessimistic of human beings would have failed in predicting that this dystopian novel would manifest itself in the most insidious of fashion， in the hands of a totalitarian regime。 Using an incredibly sophisticated surveillance system， the People’s Republic of China has succeeded even beyond the wildest of imaginations， to incarcerate， intimidate and detain close to 1。8 million people belonging to the Uyghur minority。 Geoffrey Cain， in his spine chilling work of investigative journalism， illustrates how the People’s Republic of China， in tandem with both domestic and international technology behemoths， has， under Premier Xi Jinping， developed an extremely complicated military-industrial complex where mandatory boarding schools are established to ‘cure’ ‘aberrant’ Uighurs， Kazhaks， and even some rebellious Han Chinese of their ideological diseases。 The main objective here being to ‘purge’ the deviants of the ‘triple axis of evil’， namely， terrorism， separatism and extremism。 These are arguably the biggest concentration camps since the conclusion of World War II。 Cain’s book is based on first hand testimonies gleaned from Uighur refugees who were meticulously interviewed multiple number of times and over a prolonged period of time， media reports， the Uyghur victim database at shahit。biz， the speeches in state media of Chinese leaders， human rights reports issued by Human Rights Watch， the Uyghur Human Rights Project， the US Congress and US State Department， as well as the work of a small group of researchers analyzing satellite imagery， computer data， and Chinese corporate reports。Cain informs his readers about an integrated， state of the art， cutting edge system， the Integrated Joint Operations Platform （IJOP）。 Agglomerating assiduously and coercively obtained biometric data with a wealth of other personal information， the IJOP， monitors， shadows and ultimately identifies behaviour that is considered - according to lax， arbitrary and draconian standards – deviant or non-compliant。 IJOP is thus a ‘Frankensteinian’ reincarnation of Philip K。 Dick’s “precogs。” To add exquisite irony to anguish， the invasive technology platform instituted by Beijing is believe it or not， actually branded “Skynet，” or Tianwang。 Skynet， for the uninitiated is a fictional artificial neural network-based artificial general intelligence system that doubles up as the hostile element in the Hollywood franchise， ‘Terminator。’ So much for third party optics！ The oppressed Uighurs dub this ‘panopticon’ kind of surveillance， “The Situation”。 An almost genteel and innovative euphemism for repression， “The Situation” is a flawless and unmatched example of a brazen and sustained intrusion of privacy aided and abetted by a constantly embellished technology whose might is too convoluted to fathom even。 Consider the following example which puts even the ante diluvian term “Orwellian” to utter shame: “If you’re a woman， you might wake up every morning next to a stranger appointed by the government to replace your partner whom the police “disappeared” to a camp。 Every morning before work， this minder will teach your family the state virtues of loyalty， ideological purity， and harmonious relations with the Communist Party。 He’ll check on your progress by asking you questions， ensuring you haven’t been “infected” with what the government calls the “viruses of the mind” and the “three evils”: terrorism， separatism， and extremism。”Uighur women are also required to take a government-mandated birth control pill every noon。 The government may also at its own whim and fancy command any woman identified by it to appear at a local clinic before undergoing a process of mandatory sterilization。 The irrational and non-linear logic behind this medieval practice being lower birth rates would necessarily lead to higher prosperity。 The entire surveillance mechanism is a well oiled machine lubricated by the sustained contributions of high end technology companies that are beholden to both the diktats and largesse of the Communist Party。 Face recognition software and voice recognition software comprise the touchstone behind the success， or failure of any expansive and intrusive surveillance system。 Beijing had both the components covered in the form of two high flying companies。 Hikvision， a camera manufacturing giant in every sense， took care of the facial recognition software。 Hikvision in fact is the world’s biggest manufacturer of surveillance cameras and the entity liberally exports its surveillance devices to likeminded regimes。 iFlyTek， supplied ‘twenty five voiceprint systems in the province of Kashgar to capture the unique signatures of a person’s voice in order to help identify and track people’。 The ‘Skynet’ loop as Cain informs his readers was closed with the participation of Artificial Intelligence pioneers such as SenseTime and Megvii along with the telecommunications monolith， Huawei。 Based on the information provided by Skynet， the Uighurs are ranked on parameters of ‘trust’。 An ‘untrustworthy’ rating can even deprive the unfortunate individual of basic rights such as fuel for his vehicle or groceries for his household。 The list of qualifying criteria for being labeled untrustworthy ranges from the absurd to the atrocious。 Growing a beard， praying in a mosque five times a day， a sudden abstinence from the habits of drinking and smoking are all considered barometers of a cocooning attribute of extremism。 “Starting in 2016， the government， as part of a project euphemistically called the Mosque Rectification Program， would demolish many mosques and damage others。 It removed the mosques’ Islamic features， such as minarets， and justified its actions under the claim of structurally unsafe construction。 One investigation found that the government destroyed as many as five thousand mosques in Kashgar over a three-month period。”Forcibly installing surveillance cameras inside the homes of the Uighurs， the State apparatchiks engage in round the clock monitoring of the minority populace。 An overseas academic degree gives rise to added suspicion and by natural corollary， exacerbated monitoring and tracking。 Under a peculiar system known as ‘baojia’， households in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region （XUAR） are organized into groups of ten homes。 The residents of every home are responsible for monitoring each other， keeping track of visitors who came and went etc。 A chief is appointed for the designated household units her daily responsibilities include decently knocking on every door each evening and politely enquiring as to whether any family had noticed anything unusual about their neighbors’ activities。 Geoffrey Cain has led a quite interesting and downright dangerous life。 In August 2017， the American journalist was theatrically accused of spying by the news media that happened to be aligned with the Cambodian People’s Party。 The key protagonist in Cain’s book on the Uighurs is “Maysem。” The name itself is a pseudonym for a young Uyghur woman based in Turkey and whom Cain interviewed fourteen times from October 2018 to February 2021。 Maysem felt the full might and brunt of Skynet fall upon her as because of her Turkish educational affiliation， she was banished to a reeducation camp。 “Love President Xi Jinping。” “You will go inside，” the guard told her。 They shut the doors behind her and Maysem found herself standing alone at the beginning of a long cement hallway。 Cameras were pointed at her every few dozen yards。 “The walls were covered in paintings with propaganda slogans，” Maysem said。 “On one side of the wall， a painting showed Muslim women wearing veils， who seemed sad and repressed。 And on the other side of the wall， they had women in high heels and modern clothing， enjoying the city life。 On one side， they showed crying children being taught by a Muslim Uyghur teacher。 On the other side， they showed happy children being taught by a Han Chinese teacher。”According to famed anthropologist Adrian Zenz who also happens to be a leading researcher on Xinjiang， by the end of 2017， close to 10% of the entire Uighur population was detained in such concentration camps。 From being made to stand under a blistering sun for hours， to being made to occupy claustrophobic enclosures where the lights keep blazing in perpetuity， the inmates are brainwashed into embracing the ideology of the Communist Party。 Forced to write seven pages of Chinese hagiography every day， the inmates are also made to chant eulogies of Premier Xi Jinping and indulge in eviscerating self-criticism。Those who are not shackled to the confines of the concentration camps are put to work in sprawling factories acting as manufacturing hubs for rich global conglomerates。 Under a program christened “Xinjiang Aid”， Uighur detainees are transported to labour camps across China。 As Cain elucidates， “the Australian Strategic Policy Institute （ASPI） identified eighty-three companies that benefited from Uyghur workers transferred through labor programs。 They included Amazon， Adidas， Calvin Klein， Gap， and Tommy Hilfiger。” Xinjiang also supplies 20 percent of the world’s cotton。 Cain alleges that in the year 2018， three regions forcefully transferred at least 570，000 people to engage in some demanding grueling cotton picking by hand。 Post this incident going public， in December 2020， the United States banned cotton imports from the bingtuan， accusing it of “slave labor。”China， under its gargantuan Belt and Road Initiative is also getting many countries “locked” into accepting its dastardly philosophy towards the Uighurs。 One of the primary beneficiaries thus far of the BRI ‘largesse’ has been Pakistan。 China has pumped in a whopping sum of $46 billion into the China Pakistan Economic Corridor （CPEC）， a sprawling crisscross of mega industrial projects intended to rapidly upgrade Pakistan's required infrastructure and strengthen its economy by the construction of modern transportation networks， numerous energy projects， and special economic zones。 It does not take a genius to thus decipher where the Pakistani loyalties lie。 In a recent television interview the seasoned Australian journalist Jonathan Swan exposed the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan for the show-horse pony that he was rather than the voracious chest-thumping condemner of Islamophobia as the politician himself has been self-gloating all along。 Upon being asked about the plight of the Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang， Khan made a capital mockery of himself by first confessing that China was one of Pakistan’s greatest friends， before feebly trying to argue that he was only concerned with atrocities and injustices occurring within his own nation and its borders （meaning Kashmir） and when laughably reminded that Xinjiang was in fact near his own border， finally falling flat on his face by meekly mumbling that all discussions between China and Pakistan on such issues would be held only behind ‘closed doors’。 As Bruno Macaes， writes in his compelling book “Belt and Road， A Chinese World Order”， “In December 2017， Sri Lanka formally handed control of Hambantota port to China in exchange for writing down the country’s debt。 Under a $1。1 billion deal， Chinese firms now hold a 70 percent stake in the port and a 99 year lease agreement to operate it。” China itself has acknowledged this fact。 “In April 2018， Li Ruogu， the former president of the Export-Import Bank of China， argued publicly that most of the countries along the routes of the BRI did not have the money to pay for the projects for which they were involved…。。the countries’ average liability and debt rates had reached 35 and 126 percent respectively， far above the globally recognized warning lines。”Cain also interviews other Uighur intellectual refugees such as the linguist and writer， Abduweli Ayup， Kazakh activist Serikzhan Bilashand defected Uighur spy Yusuf Amet who was forced to work for the Chinese Government。 Each and every story is heart rending and gut wrenching and represents an urgent clamour for the world to sit up and take notice。 But it is highly likely that even such a fundamental request would fall on deaf years as a rampaging authoritarian state goes about entangling a multitude of countries in its vice like grip of debt diplomacy in the same manner a spider goes about trapping helpless and hapless flies into a dexterously and intricately spun web。 。。。more
Pritam Chattopadhyay
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Book: The Perfect Police State: An Undercover Odyssey into China's Terrifying Surveillance Dystopia of the Future （Hardcover）Author: Geoffrey Cain Publisher: Public Affairs （29 June 2021）Language: EnglishFile size: 1634 KBFormat: KindlePrint length: 279 pagesPrice: 1384 /-The appalling human rights state of affairs in China cannot ever be overemphasized。 2020 was marked by unsympathetic crackdowns on human rights advocates and people perceived to be nonconformists， as well as the organiz Book: The Perfect Police State: An Undercover Odyssey into China's Terrifying Surveillance Dystopia of the Future （Hardcover）Author: Geoffrey Cain Publisher: Public Affairs （29 June 2021）Language: EnglishFile size: 1634 KBFormat: KindlePrint length: 279 pagesPrice: 1384 /-The appalling human rights state of affairs in China cannot ever be overemphasized。 2020 was marked by unsympathetic crackdowns on human rights advocates and people perceived to be nonconformists， as well as the organized suppression of ethnic minorities。 The commencement of 2020 saw the start of the COVID-19 eruption in Wuhan， which （officially） killed more than 4，600 people in China。 People demanded autonomy of expression and precision after authorities chastised health professionals for warning about the virus。 At the UN， China was robustly censured and recommendd to permit instant， consequential and unregulated access to Xinjiang。 Rigorous constraints on sovereignty of expression continued unabated。 Foreign journalists faced incarceration and eviction， on top of systematic delays to and denials of visa renewals。 Chinese and other tech firms operating outside China blocked what the government estimated politically susceptible content， extending its censorship standards worldwide。 China enacted its first Civil Code， which received thousands of submissions by the public calling for legalization of same-sex marriage。 Hong Kong’s National Security Law led to a crack down on freedom of expression。This book tells the story of how Xinjiang became the world’s most complicated surveillance nightmare —how the circumstances came to be and what it means for our future as we hold close unparalleled advances in AI， facial recognition， surveillance， and other technologies。When， in September 2001， the Twin Towers fell in New York it was the one of the most visible terrorist act the modern world had ever seen。 More than 6800 miles away， the Chinese government in Beijing perceived this as a vista to bump up its dictatorial rule。 One month later， China commenced its own war on terror， and its main focus was extremist groups consisting of Muslim Uyghurs from Xinjiang。Xinjiang， however， enjoyed comparative peace and affluence from 2001 to 2009， as a result of oil wealth and a construction boom。 But China didn’t dole out the fruits of opulence reasonably among Xinjiang’s minorities， who had a historical claim to this land， and settlers from the Han Chinese majority group， who had arrived from the east seeking riches and opportunity。After nearly a decade of bubbling resentment， Uyghur rioters took to the streets of Xinjiang’s regional capital， Urumqi， in July 2009。 The government responded by shutting down the internet and communication lines， and disappearing untold numbers of young Uyghur men。 Some were executed， accused of fomenting a violent separatist plot。From 2009 to 2014， thousands of Uyghur men， having encountered persecution， traveled to Afghanistan and Syria， training and fighting with groups connected to ISIS， hoping to one day return to China and wage a jihad， or “holy war，” against it。 These new terrorists launched a campaign of shoot-outs， assassinations， knife attacks， and an attempted airplane hijacking in China。 From 2014 to 2016， China escalated its counterterrorism tactics to unseen levels of brutality。Despite constitutional provisions and its international commitments and obligations， China continued its unrelenting persecution of human rights defenders （HRDs） and activists。 Throughout the year， they were systematically subjected to harassment， intimidation， enforced disappearance and arbitrary and incommunicado detention， as well as lengthy terms of imprisonment。 The absence of an independent judiciary and effective fair trial guarantees compounded such recurrent violations。 Many human rights lawyers were denied their right to freedom of movement， as well as to meet and represent defendants and have access to case materials。 HRDs and activists were targeted and charged with broadly defined and vaguely worded offences such as “subverting state power”， “inciting subversion of state power” and “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”。Since 2017， an estimated 1。8 million Uyghurs， Kazakhs， and people from other minorities have been accused by the government of harbouring “ideological viruses” and “terrorist thoughts，” and taken away to hundreds of concentration camps。 Many of the camps were repurposed high schools and other buildings， turned into detention centers for torture， brainwashing， and indoctrination。 It is the largest internment of ethnic minorities since the Holocaust。The author observes: “Even if you don’t end up in a camp， daily life is hellish。 If you’re a woman， you might wake up every morning next to a stranger appointed by the government to replace your partner whom the police “disappeared” to a camp。 Every morning before work， this minder will teach your family the state virtues of loyalty， ideological purity， and harmonious relations with the Communist Party。 He’ll check on your progress by asking you questions， ensuring you haven’t been “infected” with what the government calls the “viruses of the mind” and the “three evils”: terrorism， separatism， and extremism。”Geoffrey Cain has divided this book into twenty chapters: 1。 The New Dominion2。 The Panopticon3。 Sky Net Has Found You4。 China Rises5。 Deep Neural Network6。 Do You Think I Am an Automaton？7。 The Great Rejuvenation8。 China’s War on Terror9。 The Three Evils: Terrorism， Extremism， and Separatism10。 People as Data11。 How to Rank Everyone on Their Trustworthiness12。 The All-Seeing Eye13。 Called to a Concentration Camp14。 Mass Internment15。 The Big Brain16。 The Bureaucracy Is Expanding to Meet the Needs of the Expanding Bureaucracy17。 The Prison of the Mind18。 A New Cold War？19。 The Great Rupture20。 You’re Not Safe AnywhereSevere and across-the-board subjugation of ethnic minorities continued unabated under the pretence of “anti-separatism”， “anti-extremism” and “counter-terrorism” in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region （Xinjiang） and the Tibet Autonomous Region （Tibet）。 Access to and from Tibet remained highly restricted， particularly for journalists， academics and human rights organizations， making it extremely difficult to investigate and document the human rights situation in the region。 In Xinjiang， since 2017 an estimated one million or more Uyghurs， Kazakhs and other predominantly Muslim peoples were at random detained without trial and subjected to political programming and forced cultural assimilation in “transformation-through-education” centres。 Documenting the full scope of violations remained impossible due to a lack of publicly available data and restrictions on access to the region。 Despite having primarily denied the existence of camps， authorities later described them as “vocational training” centres。 Nevertheless， satellite imagery indicated that an increasing number of camps continued to be built throughout the year。With the onset of totalitarianism， world wars， and genocides in the twentieth century， several of our most prescient writers concluded the world was headed toward a dystopia if we failed to act。 In his 1932 book Brave New World， Aldous Huxley imagined a world government that indoctrinated children into a rigid caste system， giving them a euphoric drug that made them forget the despair of their twenty-sixth century dystopia。 17 years later， in 1949， George Orwell published 1984， imagining a more overt and fascistic government that controlled its people through a panopticon。 Other books were even more accurately prophetic of life today。 In the lesser known ‘Stand on Zanzibar’ published in 1968， the American science fiction writer John Brunner predicted with uncanny accuracy that the world would be overpopulated with 7 billion people in 2010， that its inhabitants would read their news in short bursts and respond with real-time takes on a social network akin to Twitter， that China would emerge as the United States’ main rival， and that an African American president named “President Obomi” would sit in the White House。Those science fiction authors asked the question， “What if？” Their goal was to conceive of a future gone wrong and thus stimulate their readers to think carefully about the decisions immediately in front of them。 Decisions that could either propel society toward a dystopian future or help it chart a better course。 Xinjiang is the dystopia they imagined。It’s time to abandon the question of “What if？” We should now ask， “What do we do about it？”China is culpable of digging itself into the zero-sum dilemma that killed whatever trust people around the world had in it。 China persecuted its ciotizens， built a cult of personality around Xi Jinping， passed laws that allowed for sweeping state powers， threatened other countries that raised legitimate concerns over Huawei technology， created an opaque system of poor governance that instigated the spread of Covid-19， and rode a wave of wolf warrior nationalism practiced by diplomats who scolded and threatened other governments for not obeying China’s orders。As the world listed during the dramatic year of 2020， China， buckling down， completed its project of national revival。 Under Xi Jinping， it emerged closer to its historical empire， renewed in feelings of national pride and authoritarian rule。 Technology was central to the revival。 As China moved back in time to reclaim its lineage， its new technologies flung it forward into modernity and enabled its prosperity。 But the human cost has been terrible。 It is indeed a perfect police state。 This book is extremely dark。 It’s terrifying at times。 And it’s a must-read。 。。。more
Marie
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Thanks to NetGalley， Perseus Books， and Public Affairs for an advance copy of The Perfect Police State， publication date June 29， 2021。Did you like 1984？ Did you like The Program by Suzanne Young？ Any YA dystopian ever？ Did you like the show （or short story） Minority Report？ Well do I have a book for you！There’s reprogramming camps！ Social credit scores！ A Big Brother government that watches your every move！ An AI system that not only has facial recognition， but can help decide if you might comm Thanks to NetGalley， Perseus Books， and Public Affairs for an advance copy of The Perfect Police State， publication date June 29， 2021。Did you like 1984？ Did you like The Program by Suzanne Young？ Any YA dystopian ever？ Did you like the show （or short story） Minority Report？ Well do I have a book for you！There’s reprogramming camps！ Social credit scores！ A Big Brother government that watches your every move！ An AI system that not only has facial recognition， but can help decide if you might commit a crime！Except this is real life and it’s absolutely horrific。 The province of Xinjiang is located in the western most part of China， and is undergoing an ethnic cleanse/genocide， right under the noses of the rest of the world。 Somehow， between 2005 to present， China managed to put cameras every few feet and in the hands of every police officer， and even inside people’s homes。 They created an AI that began to， more or less， think for itself while combing through billions of WeChat messages looking for criminal behavior。 They invented “social credit” which ranks people on their trustworthiness - to China。 They took everyone’s DNA and voiceprint。 They built concentration/torture camps thinly veiled as ‘reprogramming camps’ for ‘terrorists’ （ethnic minorities）。 I could go on and on for paragraphs。 All in all this is a completely horrific if extremely well-researched and written book。 Cain weaves Maysem’s tale of living through Xinjiang’s increasing police state， stint in the detention， and narrow escape from China with a lot of information about how China， Xinjiang， and President Xi created the Perfect Police State。 。。。more
David Wineberg
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Xi claims top spot， surpassing Nazis and OrwellFor the Uyghurs of China， just being a Uyghur is a crime。 They are targeted， monitored， restricted， interned， brainwashed and destroyed。 In Geoffrey Cain’s stomach-churning book The Perfect Police State， the tone is set right up front where readers learn that when a husband is disappeared， the state replaces him with one of their own， sleeping in the wife’s bed with her， ensuring she doesn’t try to change what teachers indoctrinate her children with Xi claims top spot， surpassing Nazis and OrwellFor the Uyghurs of China， just being a Uyghur is a crime。 They are targeted， monitored， restricted， interned， brainwashed and destroyed。 In Geoffrey Cain’s stomach-churning book The Perfect Police State， the tone is set right up front where readers learn that when a husband is disappeared， the state replaces him with one of their own， sleeping in the wife’s bed with her， ensuring she doesn’t try to change what teachers indoctrinate her children with， and that no criticism of China， the Communist Party or its chairman is ever breathed among them。 If you can imagine that。 The wife cannot ever complain， or her new man will simply denounce her and she will be disappeared too。 The children parrot the propaganda they learned in school， and are taught to report their parents if they try to modify what they learned。 （“Love our chairman， Xi Jinping。”） Worse， it is all downhill from there。It is a story of Artificial Intelligence （AI）， which China uses to predict “crimes” before they happen。 The result is that nearly every Uyghur is a potential extremist， separatist or terrorist。 They are plucked from their lives and interned in concentration camps at the whim of AI。 The camps force them to sit through endless lectures on the glories of China， Chairman Xi and the party。 They are forced to write lengthy reports on what they learned that day， sing the national anthem and patriotic songs， thank the chairman for all he does and has done， and self-criticize at length。 For years on end。 Thanks to constant beatings， they learn to avoid speaking to anyone。 They learn to show no facial expressions， ever。 They learn they cannot trust anyone at all， especially not their cellmates， that no one can help them， and to give up: hope， optimism or for any kind of satisfaction in life。 Their families cannot visit， because their location is secret and high security。 If they can “prove” they aren’t terrorists， separatists or extremists to the satisfaction of the AI system， they might be released one day。 But they will not recover。Life on the outside is not much better。 Uyghur cities are choking in “security” cameras。 Police know every step they take and every move they make。 They must scan their IDs everywhere they go， whether it is a market， a store， a gas station or a bus。 Or a random police stop。 Many are required to install wi-fi cameras in their own livingrooms such that there are no blind spots， and the cameras pick up every word they say。 No conversation can be private。 Parents must be careful what they say to their children， or whom they call or text， and how they treat the neighborhood spies who knock on their doors daily to inspect the premises for unusual things like， say， too many books。 Not going for a habitual walk is reason enough for a knock on the door and a demand for an explanation。 All of which will be reported to the police。 And input to the AI system。It’s all about the data。 AI requires massive amounts of data to rummage through in order to determine and ran patterns， so every conceivable detail is collected， from photos to videos to fingerprints to blood samples and DNA。 Police interviews are repetitive and endless。 The AI decides by itself who is about to become a criminal， based on nothing anyone understands。 It dictates who the police harass， who they bring in and how their lives will be ruined。 Humans can be compassionate， so AI is in charge。 Xi’s instruction to “Show no mercy” is not sufficient。 Only the AI system can be trusted to implement his orders and his plans。The AI （SkyNet）， including the new， sophisticated facial recognition， is another fine product of American high tech， which works closely with this giant of a customer。 A lot of very familiar names make their quarterly numbers selling extraordinarily intrusive systems to China。 America has provided China’s state of the art mass genetic profiling system， which further nails not just the Uyghurs， but the Kazakhs and any other minorities polluting the nation。 In return， China is now selling so-called City Safety systems in authoritarian countries all over the world， using its own achievements in creating a police state as proof of concept。 For America to now criticize the Chinese for this unprecedentedly invasive system would be laughable if it wasn’t so horrifying。 After reading The Perfect Police State， readers will understand why the USA has been so weak on helping the Uyghurs。At work， Uyghurs get ousted from their jobs when imported Han Chinese workers complain about their very presence， just like Jews in Nazi Germany。 They cannot travel without numerous permissions and stamps， and every leg of their trip requires scanning of their ID cards。 Xinjiang has become Nazi Germany with an AI driver。The ID cards provide additional data for social credit。 This is a system where the good are rewarded with no punishment and the bad are denied what everyone else would consider normal。 Inputs include everywhere the card has been scanned， as well as phone and text contents and social media posts and searches。 Every bank card transaction， every financial move – everything – goes on the record as evidence somehow against them in their social credit score。A guard at a store will scan their card and if it comes up “unsafe” or “untrustworthy”， he will deny them entry。 In 2017， 17 million plane tickets were denied to Uyghurs that first year of the system。 Untrustworthy is at the discretion of the AI system， and once again， no one knows what contributes to that classification。 It just is。As ever， the police are big on beatings， with spiked rubber batons the everyday weapon of choice。 They are everywhere and involved in everything， as befits a police state。 The state gives them plenty of opportunities， mostly arbitrary， but also using tactics like entrapment。Cain gives the example of a mobile app appropriately called Zapya。 It encourages users to download a free Koran and religious teachings， and to share it all with friends and family。 All this data makes them and their networks instant targets for the police and fodder for AI。 Uyghurs， who now make up just 2% of the population in their own native Xinjiang， make up 21% of the arrests there。 （For years， China has encouraged more pure Han Chinese to move there and they have become the overwhelming majority， sidelining the natives in every aspect of the economy。）For those who survive the reeducation camps and the slave labor assignments for various American products， there is only misery awaiting them on the outside。 They remain fearful， antisocial and isolated。 The birthrate among Uyghurs has plummeted， much to the delight of the government， because women can’t have normal social activity or family lives， and don’t especially want to impose it all on another generation of children。 It is a kind of self-genocide without resorting to mass executions。 Another improvement over old-style Nazism。Xi Jinping’s landmark program， Belt and Road， is supposedly a project for China to make friends by spending gigantic sums along ancient trade routes。 It is also used for forcing client governments to round up and deport Uyghur refugees residing in their countries。 Because the police state doesn’t stop at Xinjiang’s borders。 They want all Uyghurs back home and under total surveillance。 （Prominent examples in the book are Egypt and Turkey。） They will also stoop to spoofing WeChat and WhatsApp accounts， pretending to be neighbors， friends and even the parents of the refugees。 They tell them how wonderful things have become， how much they are missed， that it is now safe back home， and then encourage them to come home。 If they fall for it， they will of course immediately be disappeared。Xi has instilled and exploited fear in every corner of society。 Uyghurs are just one of “five poisons” in the country。 The others are democracy agitators， Taiwan supporters， Tibetans， and Falun Gong faithful。 For ease of targeting， they are all suspected of “The Three Evils” - terrorism， separatism， and extremism。 The hatred this engenders permeates the entire society， a totally successful implementation of police state purification practices， strongly supported by the majority and ever more nationalistic Han。 Cain has gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure the veracity of his stories。 He repeatedly interviewed nearly 200 Uyghur refugees， mostly in Turkey。 He was looking for any variations that might mean they were not quite truthful or that were covering up ulterior motives。 He rejected a small number of them， and of course protected identities unless they were public figures already。 He skillfully weaves one woman’s story in and out through the length of the book， breaking the intense misery of it all with sections on global politics and history。 Otherwise， I think it would be unbearable。 As it is， the book is powerful， damning and disgusting， a real life implementation of the worst brainwashing dictatorship fiction there is。This horror of a policy is the pride of Xi Jinping， who leverages it for his own cult status。 Far from being a liability， he is intensely proud of it， calling it “absolutely correct”。 And “The superiority of our system will be fully demonstrated through a brighter future。” Xi has left both Hitler and Orwell in his dust。David Wineberg 。。。more
Ula Tardigrade
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Uyghurs' plights became better known in recent years， as new data and accounts were made public， but there is still too little international awareness。 That is why everyone should read this chilling and eye-opening book。The author describes how China is creating for the first time a real-world version of the world described in Orwell’s 1984 - not that other states haven’t tried （think North Korea， Cambodia or East Germany） but they lacked sufficient technological sophistication。 China took care Uyghurs' plights became better known in recent years， as new data and accounts were made public， but there is still too little international awareness。 That is why everyone should read this chilling and eye-opening book。The author describes how China is creating for the first time a real-world version of the world described in Orwell’s 1984 - not that other states haven’t tried （think North Korea， Cambodia or East Germany） but they lacked sufficient technological sophistication。 China took care of this， crafting a perfect surveillance system and using it to repress a whole region。I have read a few articles about “the Situation” in Xinjiang before but this book still shocked me。 Thanks to the combination of the passionate on-the-ground reporting and impeccable research （the author interviewed 168 people for this book， many of them Uyghur refugees）， it offers a very detailed and moving description of the terror to which innocent people are subjected because of their ethnicity or faith。Very interesting were also the parts describing how this sophisticated surveillance system was built - in large part with the help from the US tech industry。 As I am interested in the new technologies， I was familiar with some of these issues but only now， seeing them presented in a coherent manner， I understood the whole story。Thanks to the publisher， Perseus Books， PublicAffairs， and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book。 。。。more
Janet
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Date reviewed/posted: May 20， 2021Publication date: June 29， 2021When life for the entire galaxy and planet has turned on its end， you are continuing to #maskup and #lockdown to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #thirdwave （#fourthwave #fifthwave？） is upon us， superspeed readers like me can read 300+ pages/hour， so yes， I have read the book … and many more today。I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley， the publisher and the author in exc Date reviewed/posted: May 20， 2021Publication date: June 29， 2021When life for the entire galaxy and planet has turned on its end， you are continuing to #maskup and #lockdown to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #thirdwave （#fourthwave #fifthwave？） is upon us， superspeed readers like me can read 300+ pages/hour， so yes， I have read the book … and many more today。I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley， the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review。 From the publisher， as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews， I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸。A riveting investigation into how a restive region of China became the site of a nightmare Orwellian social experiment—the definitive police state—and the global technology giants that made it possibleBlocked from facts and truth， under constant surveillance， surrounded by a hostile alien police force: Xinjiang’s Uyghur population has become a cursed， oppressed， outcast population。 Most citizens cannot discern between enemy and friend。 Social trust has been destroyed systematically。 Friends betray each other， bosses snitch on employees， teachers expose their students， and children turn on their parents。 Everyone is dependent on a government that nonetheless treats them with suspicion and contempt。 Welcome to the Perfect Police State。Using the haunting story of one young woman’s attempt to escape the vicious technological dystopia， his own reporting from Xinjiang， and extensive firsthand testimony from exiles， Geoffrey Cain reveals the extraordinary intrusiveness and power of the tech surveillance giants and the chilling implications for all our futures。As Canada ponders the fate of "The Two Michaels" I do not for a minute wonder why this happened after reading this book 。。。 it makes perfect sense。 This is not a casual read but it will appeal to lovers of politics， intrigue and history --- and I will highly recommend this excellently written book to family， friends， patrons and book clubs alike as it requires discussion， interpolation vs。 extrapolation and a better future for China to be prayed for and have something done about it。 NOW。As weird as it sounds， take this book to the beach （or your back yard， porch or balcony） and enjoy it - just wear a tonne of SPF110 as you will lose track of time as you read this。 - If we are in the 5th or 6th wave/mutation of COVID19 by then， stay inside: no tan is worth dying for。 #maddogsandenglishmenAs always， I try to find a reason to not rate with stars as I simply adore emojis （outside of their incessant use by "🙏-ed Social Influencer Millennials/#BachelorNation survivors/Tik-Tok and YouTube Millionaires/snowflakes / literally-like-overusers etc。 " on Instagram and Twitter。。。 Get a real job， people！） so let's give it 👮♂️👮♂️👮♂️👮♂️👮♂️p。s。 - in case you are wondering。。。EXTRAPOLATION - the action of estimating or concluding something by assuming that existing trends will continue or a current method will remain applicable。INTERPOLATION- the insertion of something of a different nature into something else leading to a better outcome 。。。more
Sara Broad
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