A grid monitoring system will pick up signs of possible signs of dissent. Monitors will be required to fully understand the residents of their grid, know who lives where, which organisations they belong to and what kind of life they lead. Some neighbourhoods in the eastern province of Zhejiang are already recruiting staff, offering a salary of 5,000 yuan (US $ 792) per month.
Beijing (AsiaNews/RFA) – The Chinese government is developing a new system of social control that will allow it even closer control over its citizens' lives.
Like in George Orwell’s 1984 novel, under China’s "Big Brother", neighbourhoods will be divided into a grid pattern with 15-20 households per square, and each grid will have a dedicated monitor who will report back on residents' affairs to existing neighbourhood committees.
China’s neighbourhood committees have long been tasked with monitoring the activities of ordinary people in a certain area, but the new grid management system will allow the ruling party to manage the daily lives of ordinary people even more closely, as well as picking up signs of possible dissent at an early stage.
A directive sent out to neighbourhood committees in recent weeks set out the details of the new plan. "The basic task of the grid monitor will be to gain a full understanding of the situation within the grid," the document explains.
Monitors will need to fully understand the residents of their grid, including exactly who lives where, which organisations they belong to and the sort of lives they lead.
They will be asked to mediate in family conflicts and other disputes and to carry out "psychological intervention" when required.
But grid monitors will also be expected to report back to neighbourhood committees on "hidden dangers" in their grid, as well as all the aspects of residents' lives, political opinions and complaints.
Last November, official media reported that some neighbourhoods in the eastern province of Zhejiang were already recruiting grid staff, offering a salary of 5,000 yuan (US $ 792) per month.