by Science and democracy seem to be two distinct elements in society, as they belong to two poles. Science is one pole of rationality and scrutinization of facts, while democracy is more closely related to the humanity sphere. However, Science indeed has more influence on democratic values and society’s democratic status as time proceeds. Intriguingly, democratic values in society would be suppressed via mishandling of scientific research and knowledge, given that the application of Science influenced by the cruel and unjust intentions of the individuals or the state would significantly harm democracy. Mainly, the “steelmaking fever” in the 1950s, surveillance net, and coerced sterilization targeted Uyghurs people in China elucidate the extremely negative effect the mishandling of Science and scientific knowledge in the nation have on democracy, which includes the deprivation of fundamental human rights and freedom of citizens.
The concentration of the steelmaking process in the 1950s’ China reflects the extremely negative effect of Science mishandling on people’s human rights. In the 1950s, China started reconstructing all society sectors after the endless and turbulent age based on the Soviet Union’s experience. Specifically, the necessity and need of steel for industrialization planned in the first five years plan stimulated the emergence of blind “steelmaking fever” in China. With such an impracticable aim, the central and local Chinese government officials made and implemented many poorly designed policies related to the nationwide steelmaking process. Notably, “every family, every urban worker and every peasant would be mobilized in the quest for steel production with the utilization of ‘backyard furnaces’ (Alpha History).” Backyard furnaces would be used to “smelt scrap iron from old farming tools to household implements such as cooking utensils and woks (Alpha History).” The crude backyard furnaces were significantly different from the industrial steelmaking furnaces, so its steel production was obviously inefficient and futile.
After the ridiculous steeling making fever with useless pig iron produced, people lost the tool for agricultural production, transportation, and even the necessary cooking utensils. Such a circumstance affected the occurrence of a sharp decrease in grain production in the following three years to some extent, which eventually fueled the great hunger in the early 1960s. Throughout the steelmaking mobilization movement during the Great Leap Forward, the steelmaking technique’s mishandling causes a disastrous effect on people’s rights of properties and lives. Specifically, people have no choice but to work on the primitive and useless steelmaking process, and they subsequently endured great hunger, which was an extremely significant threat to their lives. Besides, farmers who tried to escape the scheme were punished with struggle sessions, which is a form of public humiliation during which the victim “was verbally and physically abused (China’s Cultural Revolution).” People’s fundamental right to lives and freedom of choice were deprived, which indicates the suppression of democracy. Thus, in this case, the mishandling of Science — the poorly investigated backyard furnaces for steelmaking — could suppress democracy in society.
Moreover, the surveillance net in China reflects the potential of scientific knowledge in computer science and related technologies to suppress democracy. According to the New York Times, “Chinese authorities are knitting together old and state-of-the-art technologies — phone scanners, facial-recognition cameras, face and fingerprint databases and many others — into sweeping tools for authoritarian control.” Going a step further, “the tools can help police grab the identities of people as they walk down the street, find out who they are meeting with and identify who does and doesn’t belong to the Communist Party (New York Times).” Such creepy scenes are realities in society. There are cameras and monitors everywhere, and no one could escape the day-and-night surveillance. Additionally, a surveillance net covers people’s privacy, thanks to software and cell phone applications. For instance, the most popular social media software in China, WeChat, is a powerful scientific product used by the Chinese government to conduct surveillance of images and files shared and uploaded. This surveillance process facilitates the training of censorship algorithms (Kenyon). Basically, documents are scanned for sensitive text, while images are also scanned for sensitive text during software surveillance (Kenyon).
The pervasive surveillance net based on video monitors, software, and cell phone applications, as the product of computer science and big data analysis, now becomes a useful tool for the government to check, contain, and oppress people’s freedom of speech and privacy. Every word, action, or even a facial expression would be recorded and interpreted to ensure “national security,” which is the method to prevent potential opposition and upheaval against the government’s ruling. As individuals’ privacy becomes transparent and actions are no longer private, democracy was significantly suppressed in China thanks to the intense application of computer science and big data. Consequently, Science, which is supposed to be neutral, is dyed with an oppressive color and then mishandled, resulting in harm to democracy.
Besides, sterilization as a scientific method highly developed in history plays a crucial role in repressing Uyghurs people’s natural rights in Xinjiang, China. As the US department of state reported, “the Chinese Communist Party is using forced sterilization, forced abortion, and coercive family planning against Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang, as part of a continuing campaign of repression.” Particularly, CCP “carries out human rights abuses targeting Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, and members of other minority groups in Xinjiang, to include … forced population control, and attempts to erase their culture and Muslim faith (The Federalist).” The Science and application of sterilization are mishandled: sterilization becomes an inhuman method to control and eliminate a particular ethnic group in China. The application of the sterilization on minorities in Xinjiang is a way for the government to prevent Muslim terrorism. Still, simultaneously, large numbers of innocent minorities are deprived of their natural rights of lives and freedom of choice. It violates Uyghurs’ people’s fundamental human rights and freedom of choice, given that they are coerced to be sterilized by the government. Thus, democracy was significantly suppressed with the mishandling of sterilization science and application.
With the examples of mishandling of pseudo steelmaking technology, surveillance net, and sterilization in China, it is lucid that democracy, which includes natural rights of lives, freedom of speech, and freedom of choice, could be significantly oppressed and reduced by the mishandling and utilization of Science. When Science and related knowledge are in the hands of individuals with monstrous intentions, they will eradicate the numerous chances for democracy development and persistence in society.
Literature Cited
“China’s Cultural Revolution.” 1958-1960: The Great Leap Forward, laurenream.github.io/culturalrevolution/greatleap.html.
“The Great Leap Forward.” Chinese Revolution, 14 Feb. 2020, alphahistory.com/chineserevolution/great-leap-forward/.
Kenyon, Miles. “WeChat Surveillance Explained.” The Citizen Lab, 8 May 2020, citizenlab.ca/2020/05/wechat-surveillance-explained/.
Mozur, Paul, and Aaron Krolik. “A Surveillance Net Blankets China’s Cities, Giving Police Vast Powers.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Dec. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/technology/china-surveillance.html.
“On China’s Coercive Family Planning and Forced Sterilization Program in Xinjiang – United States Department of State.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 24 Sept. 2020, www.state.gov/on-chinas-coercive-family-planning-and-forced-sterilization-program-in-xinjiang/.
“U.S. Sanctions China Over Human Rights Violations Of Uyghurs.” The Federalist, 9 July 2020, thefederalist.com/2020/07/09/u-s-sanctions-china-over-human-rights-violations-of-uyghurs/.