Mareike Ohlberg (Senior Fellow, Asia Program, The German Marshall Fund of the United States), Jessica Batke (Senior Editor, ChinaFile, Center on U.S.-China Relations, Asia Society)

Mareike Ohlberg of The German Marshall Fund and Jessica Batke of ChinaFile present their analysis of 76,000 Chinese government records that document the rise and widespread procurement of surveillance technology and services over the last 16 years. Their research show that despite extreme levels of surveillance in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, the same schemes in use in Xinjiang are also being used across the country from large cities to small towns. Whether they are assessing residents’ basic needs or trying to predict future behavior, officials engaged in surveillance are pursuing a single goal: to keep China’s citizens under near-constant watch. This webinar will be moderated by UC San Diego professor Victor Shih.