Culture | Technology and social control

In China, surveillance crushes lives—and improves them

Josh Chin and Liza Lin explain how in “Surveillance State”

Surveillance cameras are mounted on a lamp post near the large portrait of Chinese leader Mao Zedong at the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, Friday, March 15, 2019. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday denied Beijing tells its companies to spy abroad, refuting U.S. warnings that Chinese technology suppliers might be a security risk. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Surveillance State. By Josh Chin and Liza Lin. St Martin’s Press; 320 pages; $29.99 and £22.99

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Perfect vision”

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