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HONG KONG – Electronics stores in Hong Kong have seen a sharp rise in demand for cheap burner phones as the Chinese-ruled city government eases coronavirus restrictions but pushes use of a contact tracing app which has raised privacy concerns.
The former British colony saw anti-government and anti-China protests erupt in 2019 and a broad national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 in response, along with the arrest of most of its prominent pro-democracy activists.
The rapid authoritarian turn taken by the government, which denies curbing the rights and freedoms of the 7.5 million inhabitants of the special administrative region, has generated deep mistrust of public policies, including measures to curb the coronavirus.
Health Secretary Sophia Chan said the app does not pose privacy risks as it only stores data on users’ phones and is collected by no third party. The application notifies users if they have been in the same place with a person confirmed with coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).
“I’m buying a burner phone because the government clearly doesn’t trust the people of Hong Kong, so why would it trust them?” said Vincent, 28, an accountant who gave only his first name due to the delicacy of the subject.
Contact tracing apps have caused similar privacy and trust issues around the world, from Singapore to the United States.
Hong Kong on Thursday raised the limits on the number of people who could sit together in restaurants to four from two and the cut-off time for dinner at 10 p.m. starting at 6 p.m.
Restaurants and other places that have just reopened, such as gyms or beauty salons, must write down customer details or ask them to scan a QR code with the LeaveHomeSafe app, which authorities use to track contacts.
Public officials have been asked to scan the code before entering and leaving government offices.
In the working-class neighborhood of Sham Shui Po, a mecca for cheap electronics, more than a dozen suppliers told Reuters they have seen a surge in demand for old smartphones since last week, when the government announced plans to ease restrictions.
“People are just looking for a cheap smartphone that can run the LeaveHomeSafe app,” said Wong, a vendor at Phone House, who said it sold 50 phones last week, compared to the usual 10 or more per week previously.
Other vendors reported a three- to four-fold increase in cheap phone sales.
“I have seen a lot more people asking and buying older phones during Chinese New Year,” said Andy Kwok of Ah Ling Telecommunications. “I had to tell them that the phone must have at least Android 8 (for the app) to work.”
The most popular phone was the Samsung Galaxy J5, launched in 2015, which now retails for just HK $ 300 ($ 38.70).
The app has been downloaded 840,000 times since its launch last November, with more than 70,000 places participating in the scheme, the government said this week. – Justin Chan / Reuters
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