I’m in China right now and frequently visit for my job. The concept of privacy in public is indeed very different but it is mostly viewed as for the public good. There are very nice cameras even in the smaller cities that track where you go and when. You will get a fine for crossing the street in Shenzhen through facial recognition. You can also pay for vending machines with your face. There are cameras on most roads with flash to track which vehicles go where and when. To someone from the US it feels incredibly different and invasive, but practically speaking if you respect the laws there is nothing to worry about.

One interesting place this extends to is police surveillance. There is much higher trust of police here than in the US and every interaction I’ve had with them has been excellent, overall far nicer than any I’ve encountered in the US. They’re monitored in public the same as everyone else after all.

So in short what you hear regarding lack of privacy is mostly true, but likely neglects the general mindset around it. Obviously for minorities who speak out against the party it’s pretty problematic, but for most who have political opinions it makes more sense to simply join the party and work within its framework. I’m always surprised how eager people are to discuss politics in China, I originally expected it would be entirely unacceptable to discuss. Also note that in many ways audio is a bigger invasion of privacy than video and we all carry microphones in our pockets at all times even in Western countries.