Jianan Qian ziet hoe het perspectief op privacy in China veranderd is:
In China, we have an old saying: “tian gao, huangdi yuan,” or, “the emperor is as far away as the sky.” We use it to reassure ourselves that in a country that is so big, with so many people, we can lose only so much freedom — the central government can’t monitor everyone.
Dat gezegde is vervangen door een nieuw perspectief:
The idea of tian gao, huangdi yuan has been replaced by its opposite. We have such a large population, my countrymen now say, if we don’t keep a watch on them, there’s no guarantee of safety. What once seemed unrealistic is made possible by technology, and justified in the name of security.