Chinese Issue Big Brother ID Cards

The Chinese government is beefing up already stringent surveillance measures, installing 20,000 police security cameras in one city and issuing computer chip identity cards to millions listing work and reproductive history, religion, police records and even landlord phone numbers. The cards will help track citizens for any number of reasons, including enforcement of its policy limiting couples to one child

Some experts worry that the high-tech residency cards, which are first being issued in the city of Shenzen, could be used by the Communist Party to maintain power in a society experiencing a surge in protests. The government has ordered all large cities to issue the new cards to 150 million of the newest residents. (More China stories.)