Fox News Crew Snared by China’s Massive Surveillance System While Covering Trump Visit: ‘They See Everything’
Bret Baier and his crew, while in Beijing during President Donald Trump’s visit, described China’s surveillance as pervasive-Baier claimed ther are cameras at nearly every corner and that their driver received a ticket via phone after parking illegally for two minutes.He also raised concerns that the Chinese communist party uses such systems for citizen tracking and “social scoring.”
A state-media reporter disputed Baier’s framing, saying the real issue was that Baier’s team was filming in the middle of heavy traffic, which Beijing residents had criticized and posted online.
The article than argues that China’s social credit system can restrict freedoms or access based on compliance, comparing it to dystopian control found in Orwell’s *1984* and linking it to broader worries about global surveillance. It cites commentary suggesting modern surveillance technologies could make authoritarian, world-scale governance more plausible, and references tech figures who warn that fear paired with technology can enable such an outcome.
George Orwell’s “Big Brother” is alive and well in Communist China, and Fox News host Bret Baier’s crew got an up-close experience with it on Wednesday during President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing.
“Big Brother is watching. There are literally cameras everywhere … I can count at least 20 on this corner. In fact, in Beijing, they’ve added 1,500 cameras just this year alone. They see everything,” Baier said during a segment about China’s surveillance system.
“There’s nobody jaywalking here, because they could get a ticket right away,” he continued.
“In fact, our driver parked illegally for two minutes, and he got a message on his phone that he got a ticket for about $40 US, because they saw it,” the Fox News anchor recounted.
Baier concluded, “Now, there are real questions what the CCP’s goal is about citizen tracking and social scoring. They say it’s to make everybody feel safe. These cameras are watching every minute. They’re everywhere.”
🚨 OOPS! Fox’s Bret Baier reveals the Chinese Communists have just TICKETED the Fox News crew, using their many surveillance cameras placed around Beijing!
BRET: “There are literally cameras everywhere… they see everything… our driver parked illegally for 2 MINUTES and got a… pic.twitter.com/CKgsMiKutR
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) May 13, 2026
Li Jingling, a reporter with the state-run China Global Television Network, characterized the Fox News crew’s run-in with the law differently.
“While Fox News is complaining they got a ticket for illegal parking … this is what his team is doing: Beijing residents spotted this and uploaded it to Douyin: Fox News’ Bret Baier filming IN THE MIDDLE of busy traffic,” she posted on X.
While Fox News is complaining they got a ticket for illegal parking … this is what his team is doing:
Beijing residents spotted this and uploaded it to Douyin: Fox News’ Bret Baier filming IN THE MIDDLE of busy traffic. pic.twitter.com/PDhMGFSeV8
— Li Jingjing 李菁菁 (@Jingjing_Li) May 14, 2026
As Baier mentioned, communist China has implemented a social credit system that rates citizens. And those deemed not to be compliant are barred from travel, access to certain restaurants, or fast internet — among other punishments, Business Insider reported in 2022.
It would not seem like a far step from that to being unable to buy or sell food, rent an apartment, purchase a home, etc., like something right out of biblical end-times prophecy.
“China’s social credit system incorporates a moral edge into the program, which is why many have compared it to some level of dystopian governance, such as in George Orwell’s ‘1984’ in which the state heavily controls every aspect of a citizen’s life,” Business Insider noted.
The Hoover Institute’s Peter Robinson — who wrote Ronald Reagan’s famous “Tear Down This Wall” speech — observed during a 2024 interview with venture capitalist Peter Thiel, “We have the mechanisms that would make world government, a gigantic global surveillance state … plausible.”
Peter Thiel on the “Global Surveillance State” and the Antichrist
“The Antichrist will talk about Armageddon all the time. He’ll scare people—then offer to save them.” pic.twitter.com/buKpfXzhtc
— karma (@karma44921039) June 9, 2025
Thiel, who co-founded PayPal as well as Palantir, which develops surveillance systems, agreed.
The tech mogul, who has spoken publicly before about how an Antichrist could come to power, said that fear and modern technology fill in the “plot hole” of biblical prophecies made thousands of years ago by Jesus, Daniel, and the apostles John and Paul about an authoritarian leader who will control the world.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
