What is the installation of public surveillance security cameras all over Changsha? Over the next few weeks, eight parks in Changsha will be equipped with over one-hundred new high-definition, multiple-angle security cameras. The mass installation, which is part of a larger, city-wide push toward public surveillance called – wait for it – “Operation Skynet,” hopes to be completed by early November.
Added security points will give police real-time coverage of public activity in the following locations: Xiaoyuan Park (晓园公园), Martyr’s Park (烈士公园), Nanjiao Park (南郊公园), Guihua Park (桂花公园), Wangling Park (王陵公园), Zifeng Park (紫凤公园), Yuanlin Shengtai Park (园林生态园), and the Tianxin Pavilion Scenic Area (天心阁景区). While Xiaoyuan and Martyr’s Park have already been equipped with surveillance systems in the past, fifteen brand new devices will be added to the former, while the latter will undergo a complete renovation due to the aging and disrepair of its cameras.
According to the Changsha Parks Department, cameras will be placed only in conspicuous, high-volume traffic areas, such as gates, lawns and playgrounds. Calls have been made by certain citizens for notices to be posted alerting passersby to when they are entering a monitored zone, but these suggestions are still only under consideration by the department.
“Operation Skynet” (天网工程 – tiānwǎng gōngchéng), which was begun in February of this year, aims to create a city-wide network that will, hopefully, lead to a reduction in crime. Thirty-five thousand cameras have already been set up throughout the city.
http://changshahua.com/2012/09/18/hasta-la-vista-privacy/