Universities and scientists have accepted joint funding from China and the UK to develop surveillance technologies with significantly enhanced capabilities to track and identify individuals, even if they are wearing a mask. These are the same types of technology used in China against political dissidents and minority groups such as the Uyghurs.
Commenting on this concerning evidence, Jake Hurfurt of the civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch said that the government must ensure that domestic research “cannot be exploited by rights-abusing regimes abroad”.