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I took a break from coronavirus reporting to look at how China is collecting blood samples from men and boys to build a nationwide male DNA database. An American company, Thermo Fisher, is enabling this drive. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/17/world/asia/China-DNA-surveillance.html?smid=tw-share
I started looking at this topic late last year when @emiledirks first got in touch with me with this v compelling pitch. He had me at "100+ government notices." We started talking.
@emiledirks told me that the Chinese police were collecting DNA samples from schoolboys. Photos from govt notices showed them to be as young as 5 or 6. I kept on thinking about my two young boys as I pored over the photos. None of these boys have been accused of a crime.
Thermo Fisher actively marketed their male DNA products to the police. It designed one testing kit to look for the specific genetic markers sought by the Ministry of Public Security. Another was tailored to distinguish between China’s ethnic groups, incldg Uighurs and Tibetans.
Thermo Fisher also sells DNA equipment to the police in many other countries. But scientists, medical ethicists and human rights groups say its equipment can be a tool for control, especially when used by police in an authoritarian state. Eg. Xinjiang. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/business/china-xinjiang-uighur-dna-thermo-fisher.html?smid=tw-share
There is evidence that DNA is tied to state surveillance. In March, officials in Sichuan said the male blood samples they had collected would be used to bolster the Sharp Eyes Project. "Sharp Eyes" is a program tt encourages ppl in the countryside to report on their neighbors.
Anke Bioengineering, a biotech company based in eastern Anhui Province, is using the male DNA database to build a “DNA Skynet,” according to Hu Bangjun, a spokesman for the company. Skynet is China’s policing system that combines video surveillance and big data.
Crucially, most of the collection is taking place in the countryside and not the 1st-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. We don't know why but we know that more people (political advisors, a forensic scientist, ordinary folks) are uncomfortable w the idea of DNA collection.
For this report, I relied heavily on research by @emiledirks @jleibold who released this report by @ASPI_org. Read it here: https://www.aspi.org.au/report/genomic-surveillance It is the first time China's nationwide male DNA database has been documented in a report.
@wang_maya also was invaluable for her insights into how DNA could threaten people, especially given the govt's history of punishing relatives of dissidents. Grateful too to @FrancesEveCHRD for helping with contacts too.
It's clear from interviews and social media posts that men called to give their blood felt they had no choice. I spoke to Jiang Haolin who said he had to mail his blood sample back to his village. If he failed to comply, authorities would effectively make him undocumented 拉黑户
Mr. Jiang thought nothing of it. "They have all our information anyway," he said. Another man, Li Wei, resisted when police tried to collect his blood samples a second time. He said there was no basis in law and he was worried about being framed. END.
