But the delights of high-speed travel are no longer available to everyone in China. Or more specifically, they are no longer available to those with debt problems. According to a recent report in the Financial Times citing the country’s Supreme Court, a penalty system for who have not repaid their debts has seen almost seven million people banned from taking high-speed trains or planes over the past four years. Those unfortunate enough to be on the blacklist discover that their ID cards required for check-in have been blocked.

The travel ban represents the latest front in the war against the country’s personal and corporate debt addiction — an addiction some claim will spiral into a full-on financial crisis if it is not dealt with promptly. China’s approach differs markedly to countries such as the UK where those in debt have recourse to various charities and Government-backed initiatives such as the Money Advice Service. While China says the absence of a bankruptcy law or comprehensive financial credit system limits its room for manoeuver, critics will argue that Beijing’s strategy is disproportionate and misguided. Rather than helping people in debt, it risks stigmatizing and ostracizing them further.

Aside from the questionable ethics surrounding the travel ban, one wonders whether it will make any difference. Will preventing people from travelling on trains or planes actually encourage them to pay back their debts? The ban could prove counterproductive if it acts as a brake on economic migration by preventing people from taking up jobs in different parts of the country — something that would enable them to eventually repay their debts. And it could also be detrimental to business. The Financial Times report cites the example of a businessman who was unable to complete a deal when barred from boarding a flight.

One wonders if the travel ban is the necessary antidote to the country’s debt disease. If the aim is to get people to repay their debts then why not have a system in place like that in the U.S. where people are given a FICO score and denied certain loans if their credit is inadequate?

But the travel ban is not just directed at those with debt problems. As the Financial Times details, a person can be put on the blacklist for reasons other than defaulting on a loan such as lying in court, hiding one’s assets and other crimes. Indeed, the blacklist is reportedly the first part of a wider initiative to establish a nationwide social credit system that will use big data to monitor and rate the financial, social or legal misdemeanours of citizens.

And with companies already using big data to monitor people’s online activities and browsing patterns to help assess creditworthiness, fintech could play an important role in the creation of such a social credit system. The deployment of big data for such ends will inevitably give rise to calls of Big Brother type surveillance. Critics will argue that the travel ban, rather than being a mechanism to rein in the country’s debt, is intended as a tool of social control.

Either way, it remains highly debatable whether stopping people from boarding trains or planes will reduce levels of personal debt. buy viagra online онлайн займ всем без отказагде взять займ без отказа отзывызайм без официального трудоустройства