Bai Zheng is a Federal Congressman. In July 3307, Zheng criticised Vice President Jerome Archer's assertion that the Proactive Detection Bureau was saving lives by boosting the arrest rate of criminals and secessionists. He noted that the PDB was more effective at identifying Federal citizens opposed to the PDB's invasive surveillance than in carrying out its original task of rooting out Neo-Marlinist Liberation Army cells. In October 3307, Zheng also expressed alarm over the PDB being updated to identify citizens who were susceptible to radicalisation by ideologies that the Federal government deemed to be hostile.
Timeline[]
20 OCT 3307
- A pro-corporatist group planning a series of terror attacks has been shut down by the Federal Intelligence Agency. An update on the operation was delivered by Deputy Director Bethany Blake, who runs the Proactive Detection Bureau: "Special forces have now arrested the organisers of the underground organisation called Jupiter's Wrath. This was a collection of citizens radicalised by Jupiter Rochester into believing that they could replace democratically elected leaders with corporate overlords. This successful operation was only possible thanks to information provided by the PDB. Without this surveillance network, we would be entirely unaware of Jupiter's Wrath and many leading politicians may have lost their lives. Our analysts are now updating the PDB's algorithms to highlight citizens who are at risk of radicalisation. We will prevent domestic terrorism by identifying those being corrupted by hostile ideologies." In response, Congressman Bai Zheng was quoted in The Federal Times: "This is an unnerving development in the PDB's evolution. It's also what many of us in Congress feared. We are not targeting people who have committed a crime, but people whose personal opinions are unpalatable to the government."[1]
26 JUL 3307
- Communications intercepted by the Proactive Detection Bureau are being used to prevent further factions from leaving the Federation. A report by the civil rights organisation Advocacy proves that the Federal Intelligence Agency is targeting pro-independence individuals via their private messages. In many cases, they are being arrested for planning to commit crimes against the constitution. Deputy Director Bethany Blake, who runs the PDB, gave a statement to the media: "I can confirm that gathering such intelligence is within our legal remit. Unilateral declarations of independence are criminal acts that violate the Federal Accord. Therefore we are identifying perpetrators before they cause harm, which is precisely what our surveillance network was established to do." In Congress, Vice President Jerome Archer defended the PDB for boosting arrest rates and saving lives. However, Congressman Bai Zheng remarked that the PDB was "incapable of locating the NMLA, but fantastic at finding enemies among our own people that didn't previously exist". Both President Hudson and Shadow President Winters have personally contacted the leaders of many systems within their spheres of influence, aiming to address their concerns and convince them not to secede from the Federation.[2]