In 2022, the government is looking to continue expanding the street surveillance system, nicknamed “Eyes in the Sky.” Planned for 2022 is the implementation of the fifth phase and the study for the commencement of the sixth phase which is scheduled for 2023. These details were announced by Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, in the presentation of the Security sector’s main policies for 2022.
At the Legislative Assembly (AL) debate of the policies for next year, Wong noted that, according to the global plan of “intelligent city, safe city” developed by the government which aims to increase the capacity of the forecasting, alertness and response to security risks through strengthening the capacity and effectiveness of modern policing, the government will, in 2022, “continue to evaluate and improve on the construction of the ‘Eyes in the Sky’ through the installation of cameras in certain areas to improve the effectiveness.” Wong added that the planned activities surrounding the “Eyes in the Sky” take into account the “implementation of the future urban master plan 2020-2040.”
Offering a brief evaluation of the system, the Secretary recalled that the “Eyes in the Sky” have proven to be effective in solving a high number – over a third – of criminal cases. As a result, its expansion will help authorities to deal with more and different types of criminal activity, thus keeping both residents and tourists safe.
On the topic, lawmaker Ron Lam placed a dampener on the Secretary’s euphoria about the development of technology-based tools as well as legal tools to allow police authorities to investigate alleged criminal activities more deeply.
Lam called on the government to establish in Macau an independently overseen mechanism to manage and decide on phone-tapping and communications interception, similar to the one existing in the neighboring region of Hong Kong. Lam also called for the creation of an independent entity to oversee the use of the “Eyes in the Sky” system.
In his reply, Wong noted that the establishment of such entities does not make sense in Macau as the interception of communications in Macau is ruled on exclusively by judiciary authorities and requires the authorization of a judge, a system that is different from that in Hong Kong.
“The premises are different. Our legal regime is different from the Hong Kong one. In Hong Kong, two systems allow interception [of communications], but in Macau, only a judge can authorize that, so we cannot compare,” Wong said, adding that the street surveillance system is currently operated according to the law.
“We only do what the law allows. The system has strict regulation and it also needs to follow the Personal Data Protection Act as well as video surveillance law,” Wong said, adding that everything the police do and every installation of a new camera must first pass by the Office for Personal Data Protection (GPDP).
“Even when we want to install cameras in our police stations and judiciary police branches, we need GPDP authorization,” Wong remarked.
Still on applications for technology in policing, the Secretary noted that the government wants to enforce coastal surveillance and patrol using drones to conserve limited resources, particularly the manpower of the Customs Bureau.
Earlier, lawmaker Ip Sio Kai had called on the government to more strictly enforce rules on the interception of communications and on cooperation with the banking sector, primarily to prevent the international transfer of funds in cases of scam. This type of crime has grown exponentially over the past two years.
Wong revealed that the government intends to expand the alert system for suspect transactions with the banking sector to try to minimize the losses caused by various scams.
Questioned by the lawmakers as to whether the authorities know why these types of scams continue to target many people in Macau, Wong said that, according to a study, most of the scams related to “online dating” due to people having “solitude issues,” while the cases of people scammed in fake investment schemes occur due to greed.
National security tops concerns of lawmakers
Questions related to the revision of the laws related to national security topped the concerns of several lawmakers during yesterday’s Legislative Assembly (AL) plenary session.
At the AL for lawmakers to debate the Policy Address for 2022 (LAG22), the Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, heard many calls for action from lawmakers claiming that national security should be the government’s main priority. Several lawmakers urged the government to quickly move forward with the revisions and amendments to local laws related to China’s National Security Laws and regulations.
Almost half of the lawmakers mentioned the issue; some even made their interventions on the LAG22 exclusively on the urgent need to have new laws to “better protect the country.”
In one of the many interventions on the subject, lawmaker Si Ka Lon referred to the neighboring region of Hong Kong, saying, “in Hong Kong, the enforcement of better rules regarding national security has contributed to perfecting the ‘one country, two systems’ rule and we should learn from this.” The lawmaker added, “the law from 2009 [currently in force] only defines seven crimes and there are many more threats currently, namely those that defy the principle of ‘Macau governed by patriots.’”
In reply to many of the questions and calls for the establishment of more exhibition halls and educational activities to impart the importance of national security to younger generations, the Secretary said, “we have prioritized work on education on national security. This is why we have been cooperating with schools on this work: so we can have a younger generation more aware of this.” He added, “much of our work is done under the principle of the education of our youngsters with a patriotic sense and a feeling of responsibility and respect for the nation. We have to do this from an early age for the reinforcement of their national consciousness.”
Si was happy with the response but also added that, in addition to a national consciousness, the government and schooling system should also impart “the ideology,” and such a process involves many related topics such as cybersecurity and internet safety.
Replying to other lawmakers’ inquiries and comments on the subject, including lawmaker Ip Sio Kai, who called for a sense of urgency on the matter, Wong said, “we are already developing these works [of legal production]. We reviewed this law back in 2019 and now we need to identify the elements of violence to proceed with this battle. There are three types of threats to the security of sovereignty. The new law will include a total of 16 types [of crimes]. We will reinforce also the tasks mentioned.”
The Secretary later added, “we are having close cooperation with the State for the production of this law. The prosperity of Macau cannot be achieved at the expense of our country. This needs to be done together with our country.” RM
