China’s eastern city of Changshu is set to implement the use of digital yuan (e-CNY) to pay public sector employees’ salaries. One China observer believes that Beijing’s goal in introducing the digital yuan is to strengthen its control—at the cost of further deteriorating the economy and human rights of the Chinese people.
Changshu recently announced that starting in May, its civil servants and employees of state-owned companies at all levels will be paid in digital yuan.
Changshu is located in the eastern part of Jiangsu Province and is considered a satellite city of Suzhou.
China has been researching the possibility of digital currency since 2014. However, the first test of the e-CNY system did not take place until 2020, with a trial launch in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu, and Xiong’an. In 2021, these trials were extended to Hainan Province, Shanghai, and several other cities….