China’s social credit system has blocked people from taking 11.14 million flights and 4.25 million high-speed train trips.
The numbers, from the end of April, were included in a report by China’s state-run outlet Global Times, but it is unclear what offences those targeted in the travel ban have committed.
China’s Social Credit System is actually a collection of blacklists, of which there are more than a dozen at the national level. Each list is based on similar offences — such as misbehavior on planes and trains, or failing to abide by a court judgment — and determines the punishments individuals face, from throttling internet speeds to blocking loans.
While it’s not made clear which list has had so many plane and train trips blocked, a former official, Hou Yunchun, is quoted as saying that the system needs to be improved so that “discredited people become bankrupt”.
