China says its social credit system 'will restore morality' after blacklisting 13 million 'untrustworthy' people and banning swathes from trains and planes

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China's social credit system, which rates its 1.4 billion citizens based on their daily behaviour, will help the country restore morality, state media reported. 

'China's ongoing construction of the world's largest social credit system will help the country restore social trust,' a report published in the state-run tabloid Global Times on Monday said.

As of March, 13.49 million individuals in China have been classified as untrustworthy, according to data released by the National Development and Reform Commission.

Authorities have blocked more than 20.47 million attempts to buy plane tickets and more than 5.71 million attempts to buy high-speed train tickets from 'discredited individuals' (file photo) 

Authorities have blocked more than 20.47 million attempts to buy plane tickets and more than 5.71 million attempts to buy high-speed train tickets from these 'discredited individuals', according to the NDRC at a press conference last month.  

With a tagline of 'once discredited, everywhere restricted', China's government-led social credit system vows to punish 'untrustworthy' citizens in as many ways as possible. 

The system, which Beijing aims to complete by 2020 after being unveiled in 2014, will assess individuals, enterprises and government agencies on credit in four areas - administrative affairs, commercial activities, social behavior, and the judicial system, according to an outline issued by the State Council in 2014 cited by Global Times.  

'China's ongoing construction of the world's largest social credit system will help the country restore social trust,' state-run tabloid Global Times on Monday said in a report (file photo)

Train passengers could face travel bans if they endanger railway safety, smoke on high-speed trains, sell on tickets, produce fake tickets and occupy unassigned seats (file photo) 

Uncivilised behaviour such as failing to pay municipal parking fees, eating on the train, and frequently changing jobs with 'malicious intent' are some of the new offences that could land people in trouble, the report said. 

Train passengers could face travel bans if they endanger railway safety, smoke on high-speed trains, sell on tickets, produce fake tickets, dodge tickets and occupy unassigned seats, according to People's Daily.

Air passengers could be banned from future flights for behaviours including spreading rumours about terror attacks, breaking into runways, assaulting the crew and causing disruption on flights.

Other individuals with low ratings would be barred from buying premium insurance, wealth management products or real estate, and their personal information would also be listed in public. 

The Global Times also waved off concerns about privacy and authoritarianism by arguing that Western minds were too 'ignorant' to understand the benefits of the system.

As part of a nation-wide effort to promote the social credit system, the Chinese Communist Youth League released a music video titled Live up to Your Word' featuring popular celebrities 

'Chinese experts said how China, with a population of 1.4 billion people, processes the huge volumes of data is beyond the understanding of Western countries,' the article read. 'The hypothetical theories of the West are based on their ignorance, Chinese experts say.'

'The purpose of the social credit system is not to monitor citizens or classify citizens into 'good' and 'bad' categories but to better serve people with good credit and warn dishonest people,' Zhentao, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on finances, was quoted as saying. 

The social credit system will help the country restore social trust, which is supported by the vast majority of Chinese people, said Wu Ken, Chinese Ambassador to Germany. 

As part of a nation-wide effort to promote the social credit system, the Chinese Communist Youth League last week released a music video titled Live up to Your Word' featuring hugely popular celebrities. 

Lyrics of the song, which is catered to a teenage audience, urge listeners to be 'trustworthy youngsters' and 'put credibility in your heart.'

WHAT IS CHINA'S SOCIAL CREDIT SYSTEM?

China plans to complete building the national social credit system by the end of 2020 after starting out in 2014. 

It is a national-level initiative approved by the country's State Council and led by the National Development and Reform Commission as well as the People's Bank of China.

The system rates the Chinese citizens based on their daily behaviour, and this could range from their bank credit to their social media activities.

By the end of 2020, the number of security cameras in China is due to be 600 million

Once built, the national system could determine how easy a citizen could rent a flat, buy travel tickets or pay for a cup of tea.

With a tagline of 'once discredited, everywhere restricted', it vows to punish 'untrustworthy' citizens - many of whom debtors - in all areas of life. 

It is backed by a nationwide database, which tracks and rates the activities of the country's 1.4 billion people, mainly in financial and legal areas. 

The database is facilitated by information from major internet service providers, banks, utility companies, retailers, among others.

Individuals and companies can check their personal social credit report on Credit China.

China's social credit system rates the citizens based on their daily behaviour

The social credit system is facilitated by China's ever-expanding surveillance network, which currently boasts 200 million AI-powered cameras. 

The number of cameras is set to triple in two years when the system is built. 

The surveillance network has been billed as the world's most powerful facial recognition system and aims to identify any one of its 1.4 billion citizens within three seconds. 

Critics, however, have voiced concerns over the system, claiming it's a way for the government to invade citizens' privacy and restrict their freedom.

As of March, 2019, 13.49 million Chinese citizens have been classified as untrustworthy throughout the country.

Some 3.59 million defaulters have paid off a total of 440 million yuan (£50) debts, according to China's National Development and Reform Commission, which governs the social credit system.