A proposal to regulate the use of hidden cameras to prevent
infringement on personal privacy has been made by National People's
Congress deputies at the Fifth Session of the Ninth National
People's Congress in Beijing for legislation.
This proposal, put forward by deputy Weng Weiquan, a 65-year-old
expert in diseases related to the blood, received the support from
34 other NPC deputies.
"All of us have observed the emergence of the use of investigative
hidden cameras and agree that it's high time to make legislation to
regulate this activity," said Weng Weiquan.
At
the same time, Weng Weiquan acknowledged that positive effects can
come from investigations with hidden cameras, effects that find
their expression in the improvement of news gathering and the
successful crackdown of many crimes.
"In many circumstances, to collect evidence for crime
investigation, secrete shooting' and many concealed activities are
necessary. However, according to today's law, there are no rules to
legalizing such activities, nor are there ones forbidding them.
Therefore, it's very difficult to define it as legal or illegal,"
Weng said.
According to Weng Weiquan, the current law also doesn't stipulate
which departments can use such technical methods, and which
departments cannot, as well as in what field such surveillance
activities can be applied. Under these circumstances, it's very
easy to misuse "secrete shooting" and to enlarge its application to
an even wider area, especially to some personal fields that could
make people lose their sense of safety. Meanwhile, there is no law
stipulating what kind of information or evidence is valid, and what
kind of information or evidence isn't, and what kind of evidence
can be open to public when applying to secret shooting in getting
evidence.
"All of these problems need to be solved via legislation and
well-regulated law," said Weng Weiquan.
Weng Weiquan, who works at a hospital attached to Qingdao
University, gave informed reasons in putting forward this proposal,
arguing that "secret shooting" techniques through imitating the
investigation with hidden cameras is already threatening people's
personal privacy in their daily lives. He gave an example: At a
local hospital, the private life of the director was secretly
recorded by others with a hidden video camera. Even worse, tapes
were reproduced and passed around the hospital, which ignited much
dissatisfaction among hospital personnel. Besides, in some places,
such surveillance cameras are publicly sold, making this equipment
readily available. Weng Weiquan said that without some legal
regulations of such "secret shooting" activities, people will feel
uneasy and worried all the time, without any feeling of
security.
(新華社 [Xinhua News Agency]
March 11, 2002, translated by Feng Shu for china.org.cn)