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posted by martyb on Friday May 26 2017, @01:09PM   Printer-friendly
from the what-comes-next? dept.

Chinese police are amassing a huge amount of genetic information in Xinjiang:

Police in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, China, have been collecting DNA samples from citizens and are now ramping up their capacity to analyse that genetic cache, according to evidence compiled by activists and details gathered by Nature. The advocacy group Human Rights Watch reported last month that Xinjiang authorities intend to accelerate efforts to gather blood samples from the region's large population of Muslim Uighur people. China's government has cracked down on Xinjiang's separatist movement in recent years, so the prospect of a DNA database there has stoked fears that authorities could use it as a political weapon.

[...] In its report, the organization said that Xinjiang's police had ordered 12 DNA sequencers. Nature has confirmed the order and learned, from documents and interviews with those involved in the transaction, that the police have purchased enough machines to process up to 2,000 DNA samples per day. The police department hung up when Nature rang to ask about the reason for the purchase.

[...] Many countries use DNA fingerprinting to solve crimes, reunite kidnapped children with their parents and identify bodies, and some researchers say that the boost in Xinjiang's DNA-analysis capacity does not, by itself, stand out. "Expansion of police surveillance is expected by any civilized nation," says Sara Katsanis, who researches the applications of genetic testing at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Still, Katsanis and others worry about how DNA is being collected in China and especially in Xinjiang. Last year, Human Rights Watch reported that citizens in Xinjiang were required to give a blood sample to get a passport. And in March, Chinese state media detailed the conclusion of a 4-month programme during which 17.5 million people — who were predominantly Uighurs — were given health checks, including blood tests. Last week, reports emerged that many of the people who underwent these examinations had been forced to do so.

Previously:
China Bans Islam-Related Names in Xinjiang


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 26 2017, @09:52PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 26 2017, @09:52PM (#516151)

    Runaway's Chinese education is still failing. He's just an American racist, like the guys in another era who beat up a Chinese American in Detroit because the Japanese were taking American automotive industry jobs by building better cars. Racists. Their jokes are not funny.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 27 2017, @12:15AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 27 2017, @12:15AM (#516209)

    Your trolling might have had some impact at the top of this conversation. Coming at the end, it looks more like a petulant child who hasn't been able to understand the exchange. Poor little retard.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 27 2017, @01:46AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 27 2017, @01:46AM (#516233)

      And your trolling of the troll is even more petulant and childish than the original racist american! 白左! 白左!