China is collecting DNA data from its citizens to use as part of its surveillance and security operations . It was underwritten in part by Thermo Fisher, a company that has come under intense criticism for its equipment sales in China, and Illumina, a San Diego company that makes gene sequencing instruments. The country 's predominantly Muslim Uighur population has been particularly targeted by the program , with the government using the database to track down individuals hostile to its clampdown on opposition to the Communist Party . China has sourced commercial technology and scientific support from the US to assist with the program , which involves taking blood samples , fingerprints , eye scans , voice recordings and other data under the condition of receiving a physical examination .
China is collecting DNA data from its citizens to use as part of its surveillance and security operations . The country 's predominantly Muslim Uighur population has been particularly targeted by the program , with the government using the database to track down individuals hostile to its clampdown on opposition to the Communist Party . China has sourced commercial technology and scientific support from the US to assist with the program , which involves taking blood samples , fingerprints , eye scans , voice recordings and other data under the condition of receiving a physical examination .