Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Here is a hypothetical question: Last month, the New York Times published an in-depth interview with the pro-unification owner of Biyun Temple in Changhua County, Wei Ming-jen (魏明仁). If the temple — converted by Wei into a shrine to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — had been in Taipei, would Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) have given the order to demolish it?

The answer is no. If this seems improbable, there is a precedent.

The news that the Chinese government has established a social credit rating system sent shivers down everyone’s spines. The system records and rates every citizen’s daily activities, calculating a “credit rating” using a “social credit scorecard,” and imposes limitations on a person’s rights and privileges based on the score.

For instance, purchasing more alcohol lowers the score, while buying diapers increases it, and it affects whether a person’s children can enroll at a good school, whether a person can travel abroad and even their ability to buy plane or high-speed rail tickets.