Chinese cities investing in ‘skynet’ surveillance networks
November 12, 2013 Leave a comment
Chinese cities investing in ‘skynet’ surveillance networks
Staff Reporter
2013-11-12
Various cities across China are building “skynet” networks that can achieve full coverage of a fixed area with real-time monitoring and recorded video surveillance, reports Duowei News, an outlet run by overseas Chinese. A recent slate of terror attacks, including a high-profile jeep crash in Tiananmen Square in Beijing late last month, has again highlighted the country’s plans to increase public surveillance under the banner of “maintaining social order and combating illegal activity.”According to a recent report from the Hunan-based Legal Weekly newspaper, the government of the provincial capital of Changsha has invested 800 million yuan (US$130 million) in a “skynet” network that commenced in March 2012 and was completed in August this year.
The 26,000 high-definition cameras and 103 control room units constructed as part of the project are currently under trial operation, the report said, adding that the network also features fully integrated social surveillance resources comprising 186,000 self-installed surveillance cameras from registered local communities, stores and government departments.
Guangzhou has reportedly invested 2.5 billion yuan (US$410 million) to build its own skynet with a completion date around 2015, by which time Qingdao, a major city in eastern China’s Shandong province, will also have 90,000 surveillance cameras installed. Even a small county in Shandong has reportedly invested 20 million yuan (US$3.3 million) to install 2,618 cameras and 342 video surveillance systems.
A Changsha public security bureau spokesperson said that apart from tackling crime, the city’s “skynet” is aimed at strengthening community management and servicing civilians. The ongoing development of the network will be integrated with city and road planning and construction, the spokesperson added.
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