Good thing we have nothing like that. Only just closed hardware with closed or with some parts open complicated software mostly made by a few corporations which tend to and have in fact in past coopoerated with governments without even thinking about their customers.
I don't think they're the same.
Of course, if I were the Chinese official responsible for this policy, I would use highly visible and easily circumvented spyware in addition to backdoors and other more covert forms of surveillance. The spyware would just be a diversion.
Second, dedicated criminals will now actively avoid the compromised smartphones and seek alternate means of communication. As others have noted, the current surveillance malware seems easy to circumvent. This is why spy agencies don't generally advertise their sources and methods.
It would be analogous to a big red icon on your home screen with Snowden's face on it. You already know everything he told the world about the American government's recent behavior. The icon is just a reminder that the country you live in does unethical things, and in the case of China, a helluva lot more unethical things.
Yes, it will have a chilling effect -- but only because the truth is chilling and this app reminds people of that truth. In America, a lot of what we say on these forums regarding our three-letter agencies is speculation. In China, pervasive surveillance and censorship is a reality, not just speculation. And I'm not sure whether it would be a good thing or a bad thing for the Chinese people to become more aware of this reality in their daily lives. I'm not saying this to pick an argument. I really don't know what to think of it.
EDIT: I'm surprised about how many people jump to the defense of the Chinese government here on HN. Seems in stark contrast with the usual political opinion of the crowd. I can only ascribe this phenomenon to massive cultural relativism.
Suspicions are of course lesser.
But sneakily compromising hardware is worse then officially compromising hardware!
> defense
That comment ain't a defense.
Probably not all people from that area have the gps on non-stop with facebook and google accounts signed in non-stop to receive those goody notifications.
What do you do in that case if you're the government ?