Within just 30 years, the Chinese city of Shenzhen has grown from a village into the most developed city in China with a population of 12.4 million people. Although it is one of the most prosperous cities in China, Shenzhen apparently suffers from widespread crime and prostitution. To combat illegal activities, 180,000 closed circuit TV (CCTV) cameras have already been installed throughout the city.
But Shenzhen will soon become the testing ground for a new comprehensive security program that will include CCTV cameras with facial recognition technology and identity cards embedded with computer chips.
The program, dubbed the Golden Shield Project, integrates these technologies:
- the installation of more than 20,000 additional CCTV cameras with facial recognition technology;
- all citizens carrying residence cards each embedded with a computer chip; and
- existing measures of monitoring Internet and mobile phone usage.