ILLUSTRATIONBY PÂTÉ8 FT.COM/MAGAZINEMARCH 7/
Y
ourtemperatureis
abnormal.We’llhavetosend
youtothehospital,”saidthe
guardstandingatthegate
tomyBeijingcompound.Itwasa
frostySaturdaymorningandIhad
comebackfromwalkingmydog.He
hadtriedtotakemytemperature
withhisinfraredthermometer, the
standarddeviceusedacrossChina
nowtotestpeopleforsignsoffever,
apossiblesymptomofcoronavirus.
Thesesensorswere popular
becausetheywerefastanddidn’t
require physicalcontact:youcould
holdthemaninchfromsomeone’s
foreheadorwrist.Theyalso
frequently malfunctioned.Thisone
wasshowingthreedashesonits
display, myzombietemperature.
Ilaughedawkwardly. Wasthe
softly-spoken,elderlyguardwhoofteninquiredaboutmylovelife
andcomplimentedmydogreally
goingtoshipmeofftoquarantine?
Itookastepintothecompound.
Hemovedtoblockmypath.“No,we
havetoresolvethis. Yourreadingis
abnormal.Youcan’t goin.”
Whileitisstilltoocommon
tobedetainedorthreatenedby
authoritieswhilereportingin
China,Iwasnotwillingtoletit
happenforthesakeofafaulty
thermometer.Ibargainedwiththe
guardandeventuallyheletmeinto
myflatafterIpromisedtomeasure
myselftheold-fashionedway,with
amercurythermometer.(Iam
neitherfeverishnordead.)
WhenIspoke toasalesperson
fortheinfraredthermometers
–inthisinstancefromXiaomi,
theChinesetechgiantthatrose
toprofitonthebackofits
cheapbutslicksmartphonesand
smarthomeappliances–they
toldmethatthethermometers
don’t workproperlybelow
temperaturesof10C.InBeijing’sbelow-freezingwinter, thatmade
themuselessoutdoors.
Theproblemisnotjustthe
technologybutitsmisapplication.
Thegovernment’sresponsetothe
coronavirusepidemichasturned
Beijingintoatheatreofsecurity.
Inthesamewaythatcomplicated
luggagescansatairportsareto
reassurepassengersasmuchasto
actuallycatchwould-behijackers,
China’s displayofgadgetsandtech
“solutions”isdesignedtoshowthat
authorities, andtechcompanies, are
atleastdoingsomething.
Butdoingsomethingcan
beworsethandoingnothing.
Securityastheatregivesfalse
confidence.Atseveralcheckpoints,
Ihadaguardtryandfailtotake
mytemperature,thensimply write
downafakeone.Thelistofvisitors
precedingmeallhappenedtohave
temperaturesof36.5C.PresidentXi
hasinstructedofficialstodotheir
utmosttopreventcontagionand
shownheiswillingtofire high-
rankingoneswhofail.Inresponse,Badtechnearly sent
me to coronavirus
quarantinelocalofficialscreatepapertrails,
andoutsourcetheirdecision-
makingtounreliableinstruments:
iftheysticktoabadprocess,
theywon’t beblamed.
Falsepositivesabound.Thestate
telecomscarriers,whichown
thelocationdataofhundredsof
millionsofsubscribers,arenow
providinguserswithrecordsof
wherethey’vebeen.Thiscanbe
usedtoshowauthoritiesyouhave
notleftyourcityand,specifically,
notbeentoHubei,theprovinceat
theheartoftheoutbreak.Some
subscribersweresurprisedtofind
theyhadvisiteddozensofcitiesin
oneday, accordingtotheirlocation
history.Itturnsouttheyhadtaken
atrainjourneyandtheirphonehad
checkedinwithallthecelltowers
ontheway. Thiswouldincorrectly
classifythemashavingvisited
coronavirushotspots.Humanrightsareatrisktoo.
Sincethegovernmentinstructed
localauthoritiesto“takeinthose
whoneedtakingin”,healthagencies
havebeenexercisingtheir
quarantinepowers.Videosof
peoplebeingdraggedfromtheir
homesbytheirarmpitssuggest
somecitizensdisagreethatthey
fallintothatcategory.Myfriends
inBeijingsaytheyaremostafraid
ofcatchingseasonalfluorsome
othercommonillness,thenbeing
quarantinedinnon-segregatedfever
wardswithcoronaviruscarriers.
Someepidemiologistsarguethat
containmentisnowimpossible.
Theysaythevirusissocontagious,
andthereare somanycarriers
showingnosymptoms,thatit
willinevitablybecomeendemic
–thatis,alwayspresentinthe
population.Ifthatisthecase,
thennoamountofdata-driven
surveillancebytheChinesestate
willwork,despiteitsattemptto
playtoitsstrengthsincarryingit
out.Onlyvaccines, well-funded
hospitalsandtestkitscanhelp.TECH WORLD
NOTESFROMADIGITAL BUNKER
BY YUAN YANG IN BEIJING‘Thegovernment’s
responseto the epidemic
has turned Beijinginto
atheatreofsecurity’YuanYangistheFT’sChina
techcorrespondentinBeijing