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Privacy concerns raise over government covid-tracking app

  • 2020-11-26

Privacy concerns arose among Hong Kong citizens as the government recently launched the "Leave Home Safe" mobile app for coronavirus contact tracing. The app allows citizens to record their whereabouts and the duration of staying by scanning QR codes at places they visit. Although the government said that the data would not be saved in its system and all records would be automatically deleted after 31 days, some people are concerned about the security of their private data. "I think they would save a backup behind the doors no matter what, which makes me less willing to go out as they would know where I went and who I met," said Elyse Cheng Nga-si, a university student. Jason Chan Ka-yau, an Eastern District Council member, said that the public nowadays are aware of privacy issues when the government implements policies that would potentially collect individuals' personal information. "Take the multi-functional smart lampposts as an example. Although the government claimed that the lampposts are used for collecting data such as traffic flow and air quality, there were still people asking me if they are used as surveillance cameras instead," Mr Chan said. Ng Hing Yu, 43, a shop assistant at a boutique, agreed that using the app involves the data security risks, but he said it is inevitable. "When you gain some, you would eventually lose some.  If you want to protect your health, you need to sacrifice part of your privacy," said Mr Ng. Although Mr Ng has downloaded the "Leave Home Safe" mobile app, he criticised that it  could only control the pandemic temporarily, "I am not saying that the app is not good, but the most effective way to put the situation under control is to implement mandatory testing for all citizens." Instead of relying on the mobile …

Chenglish: Kungfu Star Fails to Master Weibo

  • 2013-10-14
  • 2013-10-14

Whenever I meet someone at university, he or she will soon fade out of my mind unless we have become friends on Facebook. Although such popularity among our seven million population is likely to continue, I have seen more and more Hong Kong people start to use Sina Weibo, a micro-blogging website that entertains more than half a billion mainland Chinese netizens, although it has been one of the targets of Beijing's vigorous censorship.

Chenglish: "Thanks for sparing my life!"

  • 2013-07-21
  • 2013-07-21

These days, a strong sense of vulnerability has infected Chinese students, no matter where they are. Back home, a medical student at the prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai was poisoned to death in April due to "trivial" grudges. Overseas, two Chinese students at the University of Southern California were fatally shot last year. Lately, one of the three victims who died in the Boston marathon bombings was a postgraduate student from China.