With am aim to step up monitoring of people in rural areas where the security personnel’s presence is thin and monitoring weak, the Communist regime in China is setting up a system called Xueliang or Sharp eyes. Through this system, the government will enable select residents to access the public surveillance videos through their phones and mobiles and keep an eye out for any “suspicious activity” and report it to authorities.
The Xueliang project has been termed as “No. 1 central document,” according to a Global Times report. Under the 13th Five-Year Plan, the public surveillance networking system is set to cover all regions of the country by 2020.
Key details about Xueliang project: Nine central government departments launched the Xueliang project in 2015. In 2016, it was announced that the system will be installed in 48 cities as pilot project. “A surveillance system helps to reduce village security problems and assists police in apprehending criminals,” a Hebei Province policeman was quoted as saying by the Global Times. Major streets, neighborhoods and key public places are under 24-hour surveillance, he said on condition of anonymity.
Fear of data leaks: A Beijing-based lawyer Wang Fu said the government “should clarify in a national document the legal definition of private and public places and regulate the surveillance system in different places to avoid personal information leaks and better protect privacy”.
However, Authorities have allayed claims of snooping. “Privacy is not a concern as the surveillance cameras are all installed in public places, along with obvious notices reminding people… (that they are) entering surveillance areas,” Wang Qiang, a specialist in non-military actions at the National Defence University of the People’s Liberation Army, was quoted as saying by the Global Times.
Last year Chinese activists claimed that they fear intensified state surveillance after a draft law seeking to legitimize monitoring of suspects and raid premises was announced. Half a dozen activists contacted by Reuters say they already face extensive surveillance by security agents and cameras outside their homes. Messages they post on social media, including instant messaging applications like WeChat are monitored and censored, they said.
The draft of a new law to formally underpin and possibly expand China’s intelligence gathering operations at home and abroad was released on May 16, 2017. However, the law was vaguely worded and contained no details on the specific powers being granted to various state agencies. “State intelligence work should…provide support to guard against and dispel state security threats (and) protect major national interests,” the document said.
The law will give authorities new legal grounds to monitor and investigate foreign and domestic individuals and bodies in order to protect national security, it said.