Hong Kong police plans to massively upgrade the city’s digital surveillance networks using 5G networked body cameras could result in a facial recognition system similar to China’s Skynet, according to opposition politicians, leading to fears that the city will soon be subject to totalitarian surveillance.
Police recently requested an additional HK$5.8 billion (about US$740 million) to finance the project from the Legislative Council, which has been packed with government supporters since changes in the electoral system imposed by Beijing to prevent democratic candidates from running in the elections.
The 2019 protest movement was cited as a key reason behind the Digital Surveillance initiative which aims to digitize police communications, including video and still images collected by devices belonging to police officers and members of the public, according to a briefing document sent to the legislature for debate on April 4.
The government has already increased funding for the police at the rate of billions of Hong Kong dollars as a result of the pro-democracy protests, which according to the authorities were the work of “hostile foreign forces” seeking to promote a “color revolution” in the city.
“Through the construction of a new digital highway to take advantage of advanced technologies such as fiber optics and WiFi…smartphones, tablets and body-worn video cameras, along with the development of new mobile applications, the (police force) aims to improve the connection between police officers and the speed of transmission of multimedia data”, says the document.
“The (police force) must further improve its command and communications, image processing and human resource management,” he said.
real time video
Under the new system, officers will be able to send real-time audio, video and images from wherever they are, via 5G mobile broadband, to a central platform of digital information that can be searched using artificial intelligence, similar to that of Skynet of China.
“The system configuration of the platform is compatible with other artificial intelligence image analysis tools to facilitate more efficient and accurate targeting of suspicious persons and…vehicles,” he said.
“The platform … will substantially advance … case detection and intelligence analysis capabilities, especially for … cases related to national and public security,” he said.
Opposition politicians said the measures would make Hong Kong a police state and make people fear being targeted by the ongoing crackdown on political dissent under a draconian national security law imposed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party effective July 1, 2020.
Former pro-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui said the request contradicts recent government claims that the national security law has achieved restore a sense of normalcy To the city.
“It is often said that Hong Kong has returned to normal under the national security law, and that the social unrest has now ended, with no risk of more arising,” said Hui, who fled the city amid conflict. . ongoing crackdown on peaceful political opposition and public criticism of the authorities.
“Do they really need to spend that much money on investigations and national security? I don’t think the police can justify it,” she said.
Tool for totalitarian control
He said the new system would be a massive improvement compared to the network of smart streetlights installed by the authorities during the 2019 protest movement, which have surveillance cameras pre-installed.
“There are more than 30,000 police officers in Hong Kong and each one wears a body camera,” Hui said. “They are monitoring people at all times.”
It’s a bit like the old days of the political department of the police, monitoring whether there is a crime or not, it’s a tool for totalitarian control of society,” he said, drawing parallels with China’s Skynet national facial recognition and surveillance system. .
“It makes me think of the monitoring and artificial intelligence that is used in Chinese cities, and that this is the totalization of Hong Kong on the mainland,” Hui said, referring to the continuing blurring of the boundaries between the city and the rest of China.
Avery Ng of the League of Social Democrats said the Legislative Council no longer challenge the government or acts as a brake on management.
“Billions of dollars for this team; we have no way of checking if it’s worth the money,” Ng said, adding that the government can now treat the legislature as “an ATM without a password.”
“The national security police want billions just to upgrade their artificial intelligence and set up a communications platform,” he said. “Is Hong Kong really that dangerous? Because I’d like to know.”
“If law and order were really that big of a problem in Hong Kong, wouldn’t it be better to use the money to hire more police and add staff to crime reporting hotlines?”
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Matt Reed.
