Dave, privacy to locals means little. Many local public schools at all levels believe they "own" their students. Schools' gates with spying security guards, that serve just like the suspicious cell phones you have mentioned, are quite common around too. Those, that are to keep us safe, have their assignment to not only spy on the students but also on teachers, especially foreign teachers. Then, local public schools routinely assign their local employees to "keep eyes open" on us as well. So, we're talking about a new model of a transparent harmonious society that's supposed to change the world. Haven't you watched the CCTV news?

Cheers and beers to the new model of the transparent harmonious society called Peoples Republic :)