press rank #172 · ~$1,000/mo

Can you live unwatched in China?

The most surveilled society on earth. Included for contrast.

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The privacy scorecard

State surveillance1/5
Facial recognition1/5
No national ID1/5
Data-protection law1/5
Encryption1/5
VPN freedom1/5
Democracy1/5
Free expression1/5
Cash still works2/5
Financial privacy1/5
Crypto freedom1/5
Easy to stay2/5
Off-grid living2/5
440 cameras / 1,000 people press rank #172 ~$1,000/mo national average

Childhood vaccines: compulsory by law11 in total

The 2019 Vaccine Administration Law calls the immunisation programme both a right and a duty, and the certificate is checked at enrolment. Because no penalty attaches to the parents, one legal survey does not count it as enforceable.

If you skip them: Nursery and school must check the certificate and report a child who is behind. No fine falls on the parents.

Exemptions: Medical only.

Source: Vaccine Administration Law of the PRC, 2019

Legal & financial exposure

Facts about the law, not a privacy score: whether each one helps or hurts depends on what you are trying to do.

Reports your account balances abroad (CRS)

No extradition treaty with the US

ID required to buy a SIM card

Crypto capital gains are taxed

Crypto trading itself is restricted, which makes the tax question mostly moot.

Crypto mining is banned

Cryptocurrency mining is explicitly banned here.

2 of 7 signals are unverified for this country: not shown, rather than guessed.

121 real place in China

Facial recognition, Bitcoin friendliness and cost vary by city even inside the same country.

Shanghai

~$1,400/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 1/5

Beijing

~$1,350/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 1/5

Shenzhen

~$1,300/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 1/5

Chengdu

~$1,100/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 1/5

Chongqing

~$1,250/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 1/5

Guangzhou

~$1,250/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 1/5

Tianjin

~$1,300/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 1/5

Xi An

~$1,200/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 1/5

Baoding

~$1,300/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 1/5

Linyi

~$1,300/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 1/5

Shijiazhuang

~$1,300/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 1/5

Wuhan

~$1,200/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 1/5

Weigh China against your own threat model

Surveillance, speech, money: filter thousands of real places across every country and see where China actually ranks.

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Country-level estimates for orientation, not legal advice. Surveillance law changes fast: verify anything you would act on.