Hong Kongers wreck 'smart' lampposts on surveillance fears

Protesters suspect ties to Beijing's facial recognition network

20190829 Hong Kong Protests

Demonstrators pull down a smart lamppost during a protest in Hong Kong on Aug. 24. © AP

TAKESHI KIHARA, Nikkei staff writer

HONG KONG -- Protesters here have turned their fury on camera-equipped "smart" streetlights installed by the local government, devices that many see as a potential Trojan horse for mainland China's surveillance state.

Cheers rose from a crowd as a group used saws and ropes to topple lampposts in a residential area of Kowloon Bay on Saturday. About 20 of the lights had been damaged or destroyed by Wednesday.

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