On September 5th, the police in Xilinhot City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, began a concentrated effort to collect blood samples from male residents in their jurisdiction and input them into the local DNA database, sparking online attention. The public not only questioned the legality of the blood collection by the police but also raised suspicions about their motives.
According to a statement released by the Xilinhot City Public Security Bureau on September 20th, starting from September 5th, they have been collecting blood samples from male residents in the area to enhance citizen identity information, directly related to the processing of personal identification cards, passports, and other documents. They claimed that this measure plays a significant role in preventing the elderly and children from getting lost, confirming individuals’ identity information, and asserted that this work is “beneficial for current times and future generations.”
The action was said to be carried out based on directives from higher authorities, and various police stations in Xilinhot City will conduct the centralized blood sample collection from male residents.
This action has since garnered significant attention online, with the public expressing caution and concern.
A statement by a lawyer from Beijing Chunlin Law Firm, Pang Jiulin, raised doubts, questioning, “What is this for? Is someone looking to go to prison? Has the Police Chief gone mad, engaging in such large-scale illegal activities?”
“Even if it’s the Party Secretary or the Mayor, they cannot decide to collect such a vast amount of personal biological information from citizens because the requirements for collecting such information are very strict. Illegally collecting such data is a severe crime that could lead to imprisonment,” he stated.
Subsequently, he posted another statement, “I just want to ask, have they collected blood samples from Party Secretaries, Mayors, Police Chiefs, and other leaders? If they have, the common people have nothing to say. If they haven’t, why only target the common folks? If anyone files an administrative lawsuit against the Public Security Bureau, I will provide free legal representation.”
Netizens questioned, “Is this legal?! Call for a halt.” “No legal basis,” “Not compliant, not legal, no support!” “According to Article 132 of the Criminal Procedure Law and Article 102 of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law, the public security organs can only collect blood samples from criminal suspects, violators, victims, and those infringed upon. This means that the police can only forcibly collect blood from specific individuals, not all male residents in the jurisdiction.”
“They claim it’s to enhance citizen information, prevent human trafficking and missing persons. If that’s the case, why not collect blood from female residents as well?” “It’s funny, if the purpose is to enhance identity information and prevent the elderly and children from getting lost, why only collect blood samples from males?” “I don’t understand, can someone knowledgeable explain?” “There must be malicious intent behind this.” “Can the authorities please explain how this will benefit future generations?”
“Xinjiang did this 17 years ago,” “With advancements in technology, human life expectancy will continue to increase.” “For organ matching?” “As long as they’re not using it for organ matching, is the genetic database security measures sufficient?” “HLA data obtained through genetic testing is currently the most common method for organ matching.” “It feels terrifying.” “Are we not even disguising it anymore?”
A netizen with an IP address from Zhejiang said, “Schools have also been conducting blood tests recently, and in principle, everyone has to undergo it without the right to choose”; a netizen from Liaoning with an IP address commented, “They also collected samples in my area, why wasn’t it reported?”; a netizen from Anhui with an IP address mentioned, “We did this five or six years ago.”