Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't know, hongkongers seem to prefer freedom.
Only the minority that are protesting.
At their height, about a half of Hong Kong's labour force (people aged over 15) hit the streets.
China’s CCTV network took just 7 minutes to capture BBC reporter (2017)
131–140 of 153 posts
Re: China’s CCTV network took just 7 minutes to capture BBC reporter (2017)
#132Not defending surveillance at all. But I want to mention that China's CCTV network is an important part of the legal improvement on self-defense.
From ancient time, the law in most dynasties strongly discourages self-defense because it's unjudgeable most of the cases. And it also could be a tool of murdering. Modern China pretty much inherited this tradition. Although the self-defense is defined in the law just like most countries, in practice it's way too strict almost like non-existence for tens of years.
Until last year, a famous case[0] causes massive debate across the country, and finally justified as self-defense. The main reason behind this is the massive surveillance network makes legal apartments confident enough to judge.
[0]: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201809/03/WS5b8c877ea310add14...
Re: China’s CCTV network took just 7 minutes to capture BBC reporter (2017)
#133Is the kind of facial recognition only bad if wielded by a nefarious government? Partly I think that huge DNA databases, biometric databases and millions and millions of cameras would be wonderful for catching criminals. On the other hand, the opportunities for abuse are too many to number. Has anyone written anything interesting on where/how to draw the line?
>Has anyone written anything interesting on where/how to draw the line?
I think the book titled '1984' touched on this subject a little
Re: China’s CCTV network took just 7 minutes to capture BBC reporter (2017)
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure one can easily speak about 1 billion people, speaking different languages, having different religion, living in different climates, as « prefering security over freedom ». The chineese i’ve spoken to, that actually lived in china, first told you the official point of view, and then after the conversation kept going on, told you about things they didn’t like, then after some more time you realize all they wan…
Ask the ones you've talked with whether they dare to level with their own parents or relatives, most likely they will be scolded as traitors or even be shuned to avoid troubles. Yes, there will always be outliers, but in the case of China, where conformity is of utmost importance, they really are just absolute minorities in the 1.4B population. If you've been following the developments of HK protests, a key indicator…
It's the tradeoff between democracy and nationalism. I bet if you offered the typical mainlander the following choices.
1. Democracy + Developed country standard of living, but Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Xinjiang, Tibet vote to become independent and do become independent countries.
2. Autocracy + Developing country standard of living, but mainland China unifies with Taiwan.
Then most mainlanders would pick the second option. Due to historical reasons, any scenario that risks tarnishing the borders of the idealized unified China incurs a hyperallergic reaction.
Re: China’s CCTV network took just 7 minutes to capture BBC reporter (2017)
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
This doesn't help the discussion. Also, anything less than half is a minority.
If a country is 33.33% of three different groups, are all 3 a minority?
I suppose so. Though it's much clearer when the matter is dichotomous, such as "going to protest"/"not going", and "GOP"/"Democratic" (I know, I know, but independent is not significant).
Re: China’s CCTV network took just 7 minutes to capture BBC reporter (2017)
#136Jesus... This is a very representative example of what happens when technology is not used in a democratic way, and when it is. It can be abused as much as it could be used for the public benefit
CCTV doesn't help in democratic countries where crimes rates have been plumeting for the last decade. They do create a lot of dissidents though and rightly so in my opinion. If I would be in reach of a public surveillance camera, I would certainly try to sabotage it. Maybe roast the sensor because I happen to have a bright flashlight in my pocket. Damn, I guess I have become a criminal now...
thats why people should have guns
Re: China’s CCTV network took just 7 minutes to capture BBC reporter (2017)
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think that as soon as facial recognition starts getting used to actually put people in prison, things like the Niqāb [0] are going to become extremely popular among criminal or criminal-adjacent populations. The side effects for the nominally law-abiding population will remain, and the program won't be rolled back, but the crime reduction capabilities will go away quickly. But this might just be the pessimist in me…
Hiding your face in public can be made illegal. This is literally not an issue.
That's why my example was religious wear, which is a bit harder to ban in the states.
Re: China’s CCTV network took just 7 minutes to capture BBC reporter (2017)
#138Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes! We should just make all crimes illegal, then there will literally be no issues at all!
Yeah because a bunch of people running around concealing their faces leads to good things. Oh wait - it doesn't. The reason these laws were mostly passed in the mid-1900s was because of the KKK.
Laws affect behavior only loosely. Particularly behaviors that lack a direct victim. See also: war on drugs, speed limits, gun control.
Re: China’s CCTV network took just 7 minutes to capture BBC reporter (2017)
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
Anecdotally this is a big factor when I talk with Chinese residents and how they feel about safety in everyday life. When I bought a bike in China and asked about locks, the shop owner showed me, but mentioned that he didn't really see a need, he hadn't heard of a bike being stolen in a while, which he specifically attributed to pervasive surveillance. I bought a lock anyways, but was taken aback by how strong his pe…
>Does it make large sections of the Chinese population feel safer? I think so. I don't think it makes people feel safer with their freedom or their rights (property or otherwise), rather it makes people less anxious that people act outside the bounds of acceptable behaviour (e.g. act disorderly). However, the problem here is that it is done by constant fear. Instead of educating people about why they should behave in…
A sibling comment already mentioned this, but I'll elaborate. Indeed, the people I know for the most part do not fear the government. Sure they don't want to be ticketed, but that's not really the same thing.
There are exceptions, mainly among academics and politically-minded people who consciously feel a need to self-censor as well as some businesspeople who fear anticorruption purges by the central government fueled by power struggles within the party.
But for the most part, the people I've asked about the fact that the government can see everything, practices widespread censorship, and has a sordid history of disappearing dissidents just shrug and point to how much richer and safer China has become. This includes people who have spent a considerable time abroad in Western countries. Which perhaps from a Western perspective is even scarier than a population living in fear.
Re: China’s CCTV network took just 7 minutes to capture BBC reporter (2017)
#140Well, there is the fact that he's a white dude. And makes no attempt to alter his appearance. And, I gather, started from a known location.
The local government is incentivised to catch the reporter quickly to showcase their capabilities.
The reporter is incentivised to be caught quickly to make a more compelling story.