>>boverm+M3
It’s almost always been like that. The surveillance 25 years ago were grannies and aunties on the first floor of buildings keeping track of who comes and goes. Gates were already installed at many living compounds, so the guards too could easily see who comes and goes. Read about the danwei system, which essentially monitored everyone’s movements and indeed life path from birth until death. Not as high tech as now, but the control and surveillance has always been there. This is probably why the escalation has occurred without too much fuss from the general populace.