CCP Arbitrarily Turns Health Codes Red

Mainland China lawyer: 'There is no legal basis, but they are done without any obstacle.'

A woman uses her cellphone to scan a venue code for health registration before entering an outdoor ice rink in Beijing, China on Jan. 12, 2021. Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images

Local authorities in east China turned the health QR codes (for COVID-19) for 63,000 residents red, resulting in them being denied entry to public places.

A Chinese lawyer says there is no legal basis for authorities to change people’s health codes but that it is done without obstacle.

The Chinese communist regime adopted a health code—QR code system on cellphones—to track and monitor the whereabouts of people. The system issues green, yellow, and red codes based on their digital footprint or their travel history over 14 days. People must have a green code to enter public places and for travel.

The health QR codes are an extension of mainland China’s social credit system that assigns each citizen a score of social “trustworthiness.” A person with a low social credit score may not be allowed to board a train or airplane, or their child may not be admitted to a reputable school.  It is a component of the regime’s pursuit of what they euphemistically call “data-driven governance” or social control.

Mandatory Concentrated Quarantine

On Oct. 8, the health QR codes of 63,000 people from Henan Province, but who are living in Ningbo, turned red, and authorities started to put them in concentrated living quarters.

According to an Oct. 9 notice issued by the Beilun District government in Ningbo city of Zhejiang Province, the scope of so many people’s health codes being turned red was too large due to a simplified operation and had been corrected, and they apologized for the inconvenience.

However, the notice said that the mandatory concentrated quarantine of the people would still be implemented.

Miss Dong (pseudonym) from Henan, who lives in Zhejiang, told The Epoch Times on Oct. 10 that anyone in Zhejiang from Henan, no matter where they are from in Henan, they have been given a red health QR code. It doesn’t matter if there is COVID-19 in the area or not.

“I came back from Henan and had to be quarantined at home for 7 days,” said Dong.

Mr. Zhao (pseudonym) returned to Ningbo from Zhumadian city in Henan on Oct. 5. He told The Epoch Times, “After I arrived in Ningbo, I did PCR tests every day, and my health code had always been green until Oct. 8 when it was turned red.”

He said, “On Oct. 9 it was turned green again, but I was still told to stay in at home.”

A security guard checks health codes on people’s smartphones at a tourist shopping street in Beijing, on Aug. 3, 2021. Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo

Mr. Peng (pseudonym), a resident of Shangqiu city in Henan province, is currently in Ningbo. He told The Epoch Times, “Zhejiang authorities said that they apologized [for turning so many people’s health codes red], but they did not correct it. It said that in some areas it was too much and would be corrected, but the reality is still the same.”

The Zhejiang government’s manipulation of residents’ health QR codes drew criticism on Chinese social media.

A netizen posted, “They apologize everyday but don’t change at all.”

Unable to Live and Work Normally

Some netizens questioned why the red health QR code can be issued to people by the government at will, and how they can disregard it by saying it is a “simplified operation?”

The practice of changing the health QR codes not only occurred in Ningbo but also in Fenghuang County of Hunan Province where some residents’ codes were turned yellow, mainland Chinese media reported on Oct. 7. This also causes people’s movement to be restricted.

A mainland lawyer, who used the surname Wang, told The Epoch Times on Oct. 10 that the red or yellow QR codes given to people have a great impact on their lives and work. Wang didn’t provide his given name for fear of retaliation by the regime.

Wang said that they can’t take the subway, bus, plane, train, or go to shopping malls, supermarkets, or restaurants with a red code or a yellow code. They can’t travel at all nor check into hotels.

Wang said that the owner of a restaurant in Jilin Province told him that PCR tests must be done every day for everyone, otherwise their health codes will be turned yellow and their children will not be able to go to school because of it.

“If you refuse to take regular PCR tests you will not be able to work and live normally if your code is turned red and yellow,” he said.

No Legal Basis

Wang said that many lawyers have encountered the problem of health QR codes. Even when they have filed for administrative reconsideration in accordance with the legal procedures for clients whose codes were turned yellow or red by the authorities, they did not receive any response.

“The government simply ignores you and treats you as if you did not exist,” he said.

“There is no legal basis for turning people’s codes red or yellow,” he said. “There is no law conferring on a certain agency or administrative unit the power to issue people a yellow code or a red code.”

“As long as you have the power, you can do anything,” said Wang.

“I feel that it is impossible to survive in this environment at present,” Wang said. “In some areas, according to the [officially] released data, there is not a single COVID-19 case. But all residents are required to do PCR tests.”

“It’s illegal,” he said. “If you don’t take the testing for a few days, you will be given a red or yellow code. This is complete nonsense.

“There is no legal basis, but they are done without any obstacle.”

Nicole Hao, Xiao Lusheng, and Hong Ning contributed to this report.