00:00Back in 2019, riots erupted all over Hong Kong, with residents protesting Chinese control over
00:06their laws. Now the spotlight is on the Special Administrative Region once again,
00:10as thousands of new surveillance cameras are set to be installed. Police say this is all part of
00:16reducing crime in the Asian financial hub. However, Hong Kong is already extremely safe.
00:21For some perspective, the US had an average crime rate of around 398 incidents per 100,000 people
00:27in 2020. Hong Kong had just 0.29, which is why many are crying foul, saying that Hong Kong is
00:34becoming more like China and their surveillance state. Right now, Hong Kong police say they are
00:38set to install some 2,000 surveillance cameras this year alone. However, they plan to add more
00:43every year, with experts saying they will likely introduce facial recognition with AI as well.
00:48Hong Kong authorities say they are simply following what other jurisdictions have done
00:52around the world, pointing to the UK, which has 7 million cameras and whose police force
00:57has begun using facial recognition with them. However, critics say that Hong Kong's suppression
01:02of political dissidents who are critical of China makes these new cameras all the more worrying.
Comments