Hong Kong adopts facial recognition tech at Sha Tau Kok border checkpoint
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong has for the first time adopted facial recognition technology at a land border checkpoint.
Officials hosted an opening ceremony for the reprovisioned Chung Ying Street Checkpoint in the border town of Sha Tau Kok on Monday afternoon. Eric Chan, the chief secretary for administration, said the government had introduced a pilot scheme for facial recognition technology at the border checkpoint, which it hoped to expand to other checkpoints.
The initiative would “facilitate the flow of people and enhance the checkpoint’s processing capacity,” Chan said. The Chung Ying Street checkpoint, which was previously made up of marquees, has been replaced with a permanent structure equipped with facial recognition devices.
An HKFP reporter observed on Monday that when an individual passed through a 20-metre tunnel at the checkpoint, their passage from Hong Kong into mainland China was captured by multiple surveillance cameras and sensing devices that examined their facial signatures and compared them to previously registered information. A screen hanging from the ceiling shows the process in real time.
Within seconds, a “please proceed” notification is displayed at the exit if the facial recognition is approved. The government has called the initiative “contactless channels.”
“I look forward to other checkpoints in the future being able to operate like this one, allowing travellers to pass through without stopping, ” Chan said in Cantonese. “If the goal can be achieved, I believe our immigration will be more convenient, and our capacity to handle passenger flow will be stronger,” he added.
Edward Wong, a project director of Architectural Services Department, said the development of the new checkpoint had cost around HK$50 million.
Around 4,000 people live in Sha Kau Kok. The government said on Monday that 4,329 people have registered their facial information to use the “contactless channels.”
A historic town that straddles Hong Kong and China border, Sha Kau Kok barred visitors until 2022, when the government rolled out a restricted entry scheme to boost tourism. However, visitors are yet to be allowed to enter Chung Ying Street.
Security chief Chris Tang said on Facebook after the opening ceremony that the pilot scheme of the facial recognition technology could help handle flow of people, adding that the government would consider implementing it at the Hetao tech hub, a science and technology zone on the border of Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
Chinese adoption of facial recognition tech
Meanwhile, travellers crossing the border via the Shenzhen Bay checkpoint and the Zhuhai checkpoint from mainland China have been able to pass without showing any travel documents since Chinese authorities adopted facial recognition technology on November 20.
Residents of Hong Kong, Macau or mainland China can use the facial recognition channels if they agree for their facial information to be gathered by Chinese authorities.
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