Grid-style social management in China

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2022-01-14 07:30:06

In the People's Republic of China, grid-style social management (Chinese: 社会网格化管理 ; pinyin: shèhuì wǎnggé huà guǎnlǐ ) is a surveillance system used to maintain public security and social order.[1][2]

The China National Grid project (CNGrid) was first implemented as a trial in Dongcheng District, Beijing in 2004,[3] and coincided with the abolition of the agricultural tax in 2004 which reduced the power of local governments in China.[4] It was inspired by the grid management of Westminster, London.[5]

The pilot project was launched in the Dongcheng District, where the district's 205 communities were subdivided into 589-part grid. 120,000 community watchers were enrolled.[6]

In December 2005, the authorities launched the China Grid Computing Center was officially formed to lead and manage the CNGrid.[5] Eventually, test watchers were equipped with mobile devices designed for reporting and communications. Authorities also started to apply a mutli-layer model in areas with denser populations.[5]