In the recent online G20 meeting hosted by Saudi Arabia and attended by heads of state of the world’s 20 largest economies, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged countries to implement the use of QR codes to re-open international travel. The QR codes, which can be read by smartphones, will be used to help establish the health status of a traveler. However, Human Rights advocates expressed that the codes, which is initially intended as an indicator of a person’s health status might be used for “broader political monitoring and exclusion”. This method has been widely used in China since February to curb the spread of the Coronavirus.
BBC: “An initial focus on health could easily become a Trojan Horse for broader political monitoring and exclusion,” says Human Rights Watch director Kenneth Roth
BBC News announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for a “global mechanism” that would use QR codes to open up international travel.
“We need to further harmonize policies and standards and establish ‘fast tracks’ to facilitate the orderly flow of people,” he said during the G20 summit, an online meeting of heads of state from the world’s 20 largest economies, which was hosted by Saudi Arabia over the weekend.
The codes will be used to help establish a traveler’s health status.
But Human Rights advocates warn that the codes could be used for “broader political monitoring and exclusion”.
