The Chinese government is collecting DNA samples from men all over the country in an effort to build a massive DNA database, a genetic map of its 700 million male citizens.
The database will be used to by the police to solve criminal cases, the government says. It includes males only at this point because they commit more crimes statistics show.
The program had been in place for years but focused on specific groups like Muslim Uyghars who the government targets for reeducation, or migrant workers in certain neighborhoods whom they consider to be destabilizing.
Recently the program was vastly expanded to all Chinese males.
In a report released by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and reported on by The New York Times, it was estimated that the Chinese government is looking to collect samples from 35-70 million men and boys – between 5-10% of China’s male population. Samples from every male are not needed because each sample can be used to determine the genetic identity of male relatives.
But Chinese citizens are voicing an uncommon level of criticism over the new program.
“The ability of the authorities to discover who is most intimately related to whom, given the context of the punishment of entire families as a result of one person’s activism, is going to have a chilling effect on society as a whole,” said Maya Wang, a China researcher for Human Rights Watch.
It’s unclear just how much leverage the average Chinese citizen has over the program however. Refusal to participate is being punished by restrictions from vital benefits.
Authorities told Jiang Haolin, a 31-year-old computer engineer from a rural area of northern China, that “if blood wasn’t collected, [his family] would be listed as a ‘black household.'” That meant that he and his family would be deprived of services like the ability to travel or go to a hospital.
Worries are also growing over the use of such genetic information to strengthen an already oppressive surveillance regime in China.
Officials in Guanwen township in southwestern Sichuan province said the blood samples would be used to strengthen the local Sharp Eyes Project which is a surveillance program that encourages neighbors in rural areas to report on each other.
Anke Bioengineering, a biotech company based in Anhui province, is using the DNA info to build a “DNA Skynet,” said Hu Bangjun, the company’s spokesman. Skynet is China’s surveillance system. It combines video surveillance and big data.