(The Guardian) – China has blocked millions of “discredited” travelers from buying plane or train tickets as part of the country’s controversial “social credit” system aimed at improving the behavior of citizens. According to the National Public Credit Information Centre, Chinese courts banned would-be travelers from buying flights 17.5 million times by the end of 2018. Citizens placed on blacklists for social credit offenses were prevented from buying train tickets 5.5 million times. The report released last week said: “Once discredited, limited everywhere”.

The social credit system aims to incentivize “trustworthy” behavior through penalties as well as rewards. According to a government document about the system dating from 2014, the aim is to “allow the trustworthy to roam everywhere under heaven while making it hard for the discredited to take a single step.” Social credit offenses range from not paying individual taxes or fines to spreading false information and taking drugs. More minor violations include using expired tickets, smoking on a train or not walking a dog on a leash. READ MORE