Hashtag activism and the sousveillance of China’s Social Credit System

This research investigates how Chinese netizens leveraged hashtag activism on Weibo to challenge local governments’ misuse of China’s Social Credit System during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysing four cases, this study employs the concepts of sousveillance, autonomy, and netizens’ application of political satire and historical references as activism tactics to explore public critique of the punitive applications of the SCS. The findings highlight tensions between residents, local governments, and the central state in the practice of the system during a period of crisis. The analysis demonstrates that, on the one hand, hashtag activism can pressure local authorities. On the other hand, however, it remains temporary and sporadic. Such online activism operates as a permitted form of citizen oversight in China.