The United States announced last year that it was blacklisting 28 Chinese science and technology companies and public security authorities, including video surveillance equipment maker Hikvision, for their involvement in a crackdown on the Xinjiang Uighur people. However, German media reported on Monday that two EU agencies are using thermal cameras made by Hikvision to monitor the body temperatures of people entering and leaving the country during the Xinguan epidemic.
The Deutsche Welle reported that the European Commission and the European Parliament are using Hikvision thermal cameras to detect people entering and leaving buildings with a high fever, and if their body temperature is higher than 37.7 degrees Celsius, they will be denied entry. Employees, members of parliament, senior diplomats and even ministerial-level officials must briefly check their body temperature with the thermal camera when entering the building.
According to the report, the thermal cameras are being used at the entrances and exits of the Belmont and Charlemagne buildings, the main offices of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium, and the European Parliament building. Two employees, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the European Commission has plans to introduce more of the same thermal cameras in its other offices in Brussels, where it has up to 60 buildings. A spokesman for the European Commission said that the equipment would not be used in other buildings.
Reinhard Butikofer, a member of the European Parliament from Germany’s Green Party, said the EU’s use of Hikvision’s technology was extremely disturbing and criticized the lack of due diligence in the procurement process. He denounced Hikvision’s deep involvement in the crackdown on Uighurs, urging EU officials to immediately establish transparency and take responsibility for the consequences, and to sever direct or indirect business ties with Hikvision.
According to the report, no public tender for the equipment was found on the EU’s procurement website, and insiders working in the European Parliament’s budget committee also said that it was not found in the EU’s public records. Neither the European Parliament nor the European Commission has provided the relevant documents upon request. In response to the report, Hikvision stressed that it takes all human rights reports seriously and has been working to clarify any misunderstandings with governments.
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