Read on Twitter
Time for an update on Huawei’s “Smart Cities” program in Ulaanbaatar (UB), Mongolia. I have a thread on this in Mongolian, so I thought I'd make one in English.
THREAD (with sources)
THREAD (with sources)
1/12 The capital’s administration made the decision to implement the Smart Cities program in May, 2014: https://ulaanbaatar.mn/Home/Docdetail?dataID=8240 The project was to be implemented in 3 stages with an initial investment of 5.5 mil USD as per this article in 2015: https://ikon.mn/n/mq2 .
2/12 The three stages of implementation consisted of: “Digital UB” 2014-2016, “Technological UB” 2015-2018 and “Smart, Green and Developed UB” 2016-2020. You can find UB included in Huawei’s promotional material: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Regional-Presence/ArabStates/Documents/events/2019/ETDubai/Building-Future-Smart-Cities%2029%20Aug-v2.pdf
3/12 By 2017 an agreement was reached to install surveillance cameras in southern provinces along the border with China as well, for the purposes of “crime prevention”: https://ikon.mn/n/12yf
4/12 Back to UB, according to an article in Xinhua a total of 2,530 surveillance cameras were installed in the capital in 2018: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-06/19/c_137264873.htm
5/12 In 2019 @jdierkes wrote a blog post titled “Security Cameras Everywhere” and included pictures: https://blogs.ubc.ca/mongolia/2019/surveillance-safety-deterrence/
6/12 In this 2019 interview UB’s head of Innovation and Technological projects states that out of the 260,000 registered crimes cameras were useful in the resolution of only 20 cases due to lack of maintenance: https://ikon.mn/n/1kl3
7/12 In the above article he also mentions the Chinese government agreed to invest 36$ mil for installing surveillance cameras, the project is stated to be overseen by the Ministry of Justice of Mongolia.
8/12 2019 in an interview with Komsomoliskaya Pravda Dr. V. Ovchinsky, a member of the Council on Foreign and Defence policy states that “In 2020, China will conduct a feasibility run for social credit system in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia: https://www.kp.kg/daily/27063/4131703/
9/12 Subsequently, in 2020 @nivayautszyan wrote an article for The Diplomat “Exporting China’s Social Credit System to Central Asia” about wider consequences of digital surveillance: https://thediplomat.com/2020/01/exporting-chinas-social-credit-system-to-central-asia/
9.1/12 @AnandDairtan translated the above article: “Хятад Улс Нийгмийн Кредит Онооны Системээ Төв Ази Руу Экспортлохоор Зэхэж Байна”: http://www.ubn.mn/r/866
10/12 There appears to be enthusiasm regarding surveillance tech as per this tweet by UB Police Spokesperson: https://twitter.com/bubaatarkhuu/status/1095230148415086592?s=21
11/12 A 2020 article on UB’s ‘Safe cities’ program+plans to install “surveillance cameras to cover 80% of UB” btw 2020-2021 expecting “a 40-50% reduction in crime”. Mayor S.Amarsaikhan mentions of facial recognition technology: http://unuudur.mn/царай-таних-технологийн-цаана/
12/12 Ending this thread with important Qs raised by @otgonpurew: https://twitter.com/otgonpurew/status/1265668665669586944
