16, Dec 2017 | CJP Team

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has revealed that Chinese authorities are collecting fingerprints, DNA samples and other biometric data from all residents aged 12 to 65 in Xinjiang, a far western region of the country, where many minorities, including over 11 million Uighurs, a Muslim minority, live, the Guardian reported. For “focus personnel”, a term used to identify those authorities consider dangerous to regime stability, the data is collected irrespective of their age. The data collection is reportedly being conducted partly through medical examinations, and it is not evident if patients know that these exams are also intended to communicate biometric data to the police. According to a state news agency, almost 19 million people have undergone these exams, called Physicals for All, this year. HRW’s China director, Sophie Richardson, said, “The mandatory databanking of a whole population’s biodata, including DNA, is a gross violation of international human rights norms,” adding, “It’s even more disturbing if it is done surreptitiously, under the guise of a free healthcare program.”