On looks like a short story by Philip K. Dick (or, to speak to the youngest, an episode of the anticipation series black-mirror). And yet, it happened in China last week. Worried about their deposits following reports raising fears of bankruptcies, savers from four rural banks in the central province of Henan had tried to go to their offices in the provincial capital Zhengzhou.
But once on the way, their health QR Code, sesame now essential for getting around, turned red without explanation, leading them straight to the police station. A dystopian scenario which materializes the fears of defenders of individual freedoms, who have been warning since the start of the pandemic of the risk of totalitarian drift of…