>>...a financial credit score, which is commonplace in most countries and was created as a way for banks and businesses to estimate the risk of offering loans, leases...

In the US, it was to make lending money fairer to minorities. It still continued but based more on property location (AKA "redlining") than on a banker's personal view of a borrower's credit history - but it was a step in the right direction anti-discrimination wise.

But yeah, agreed that China's become an absolute dystopia - particularly for the non-Han minorities.

Also, everyone there has a 'covid' app on their phone. If they haven't had a PCR (AKA 'nucleic') test in the past few days or if they've so much as passed through a 'suspect' area, the app turns from green to red - and with a red ID they can't even get into a rest room.

Back when one of the regional banks was failing, out of region depositors had their covid IDs all turn red so they couldn't travel to claim their money.