Transcript: China's Social Credit System: A Biblical Perspective on Surveillance

In his book 1984, written in 1948, George Orwell predicted a world where security cameras would record the movements of everyone on Earth, with dire consequences for anyone who dared to bug the system. 1984 came and went without much concern. Sure, there were signs of greater government control, but not all that much. Now, however, less than 35 years later, we are starting to see this same sort of totalitarian government coming into existence before our very eyes. And it is happening in a country which already has a human rights record to rival Orwell's dystopian prediction. And tragically, there seems to be little that the human race can do to stop it. In a recent documentary released by ABC TV in Australia, a system of totally computerized control for 1.4 billion Chinese citizens was examined by foreign correspondent reporters. It has all the earmarks of exactly what Orwell predicted. China calls the system social credit. On the surface, it may not appear to be much worse than the control some Western countries have had over people for some time. This is most notable in the area of bad credit. Defaulting on payments for almost anything can get you blacklisted, after which it can be especially hard to rent a house, to buy anything on credit or to get a loan. So fear of being marked for life as a credit risk keeps millions of Americans for example struggling constantly to make payments on time But China has gone beyond that already and there are plans to go much further Take note that this is a country which is even now butchering tens of thousands of dissidents each year in a lucrative organ harvesting scheme. The practice runs almost exclusively on support from people in Western countries who pay tens of thousands of dollars to have someone killed in China so that they can receive a much-needed organ transplant. Please watch our video, The Dragon Awakes, for further details on that aspect of life and death in China. So any talk about labeling people as credit risks is only the tiniest tip of the iceberg in terms of where this Chinese social credit program is heading. The ABC report found that such simple behaviors as crossing a street in the wrong place, buying too much alcohol, or being friends with someone who has criticized the government is enough to affect one's computer-generated credit rating in China. All of these behaviors and more are tracked through facial recognition and hundreds of millions of closed-circuit TV monitors which operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Now, while people with high ratings get special privileges, the government predicts growing punishment for those with low ratings. The plan already seriously restricts movement from many whom the government deems to be social credit risks. Offenders will not be able to move even one inch, boasts one government source. Now there are other countries where a person's religious belief can bar them from getting a job or receiving government benefits. So China is not the first country to have tried to starve out religious and political dissidents. But in China things are almost certain to become even worse than that Already meditation groups conservative Muslims and even Christians who worship in their own homes instead of in government-sanctioned churches can be detained, tortured and executed without any form of accountability from the party leaders who orchestrate all of this. And it's all justified on the grounds that it maintains order in such a huge country where dissent, they say, could easily turn into dangerous riots. If China's social credit system is merged with her cruel and arbitrary record of religious persecution, we would have a country that not only reflects what George Orwell predicted 70 years ago, but also what Jesus and John the Revelator predicted 2000 years ago. The Bible talks about a world where every inhabitant must have a mark on their right hand or on their forehead before they can buy or sell anything, where there is some kind of an image that can speak. This image, the revelation says, can identify anyone who does not serve the new world leader. And this coming world dictator is described as the devil incarnate, and he and his government are symbolized as a red dragon. China is, arguably, the world's leading superpower already. Its economic tentacles are reaching into lesser countries everywhere while the US struggles to maintain pace with what control it already has. But it is China who most uses economic sanctions now to force other countries to toe the line. Australia is just one illustration of how the rest of the world fears the wrath of China. Efforts to get the government of Australia to censure China's well-documented organ harvesting have fallen on deaf ears. Not because the atrocities have not been proven to exist but because it would upset one of Australia biggest trade partners if we complained about it openly Put this video together with the Dragon Awakes and you get a picture of what the future is very likely to be for every one of us but especially for those of us who seek to live by faith in obedience to the teachings of Jesus. Even now, it is virtually impossible to find any country on earth that dares to stand up to China. What Hitler did during World War II and what Stalin did shortly thereafter may soon pale as China brings in its totalitarian answer to world domination. China is even now starting to do this through the most advanced and extensive computer technology in the world. Are you ready for it? There seems to be no way to stop China's relentless march toward world domination and total control of every inhabitant on earth. Even the Bible seems to have said that. Every professing Christian in the world needs to recognize the possibility that the freedoms so many of us have taken for granted for decades are coming to an end. We may be approaching that point in human history where our only way to express loyalty to Jesus Christ will be through martyrdom. How serious are you about counting that cost of discipleship? Please watch other videos on this channel, and then contact us if you want to work with others who are committed to God even more than life itself. The email address for contacting us is on screen at the moment. Remember, time is short. Let's make the most of it. .