Human rights groups are calling on the federal government to ban four Chinese surveillance camera companies sold across the country because they are suspected of being complicit in a campaign of repression.
• Also read: Quebec security companies show the door to a controversial Chinese surveillance camera manufacturer
Two of these companies, Hikvision and Dahua, were the subject of reports by our Investigation Bureau last year, after which Quebec decided to ban them.
Hikvision, Dahua, Tiandy and Uniview cameras, which are available over the counter across the country, have reportedly been used for years by China in its repression of Uighurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
AFP
A watchtower photographed in 2019 at a high-security facility near what is believed to be a re-education camp holding mainly Muslim ethnic minorities, on the outskirts of Hotan in China’s northwest Xinjiang region.
Arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence, forced sterilization; the abuse suffered by this Muslim minority amounts to “genocide,” Canada recognized in 2021.
Yet the country continues to host and sell products from these surveillance companies that help the Chinese government carry out these atrocities, says a coalition of organizations, including the Washington-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies.
In a report of more than 300 pages submitted to the Canadian government last May, the coalition is calling for these companies to be added to the list of the Special Economic Measures Regulations (of Canada), which would make them disappear from the Canadian market.
Silence radio
Since then, there has been zero silence from the federal authorities. At the time of publication, Public Services and Procurement Canada had not responded to our questions.
The debate is not new. Last year, our Bureau of Investigation reported that Hikvision cameras posed a “danger” to national security because China could use them to spy on Canada, according to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
“Canada has a duty to implement sanctions, which are clearly justified by our laws, the mountain of evidence and a fundamental sense of right and wrong. The alternative is to continue to ignore our values, for fear that China will kidnap more Canadians or tax exports; this is not foreign policy, this is our country being held hostage,” says Conor Healy, an advisor to the Uyghur Rights Project and director of the U.S.-based research group IPVM.
EPA/DIEGO AZUBEL
A Uyghur woman with her baby and a young girl stand in front of soldiers after an incident between Uyghurs and security forces on the streets of Urumqi, Xinjiang province, July 13, 2009.
Respectful of human rights
Tiandy and Uniview had not responded to our messages at the time of publication. Hikvision and Dahua sent us statements in which they affirmed that they respect human rights.
“As a global company, Hikvision respects human rights and takes all human rights concerns very seriously. Our global human rights policy applies to all aspects of our operations, including our branches and subsidiaries around the world. As a market leader, we recognize our responsibility to protect people and firmly oppose all forms of forced labor, child labor and modern slavery,” Hikvision wrote to us.
“Dahua Technology is founded on transparency and integrity, adhering to the highest security practices in our industry and complying with all applicable laws, regulations and business ethics in each market in which we operate. (…) Dahua has never developed and will never develop any product or solution to identify or target any specific ethnic, racial or national group, including the Uyghur people of Xinjiang Province in China,” Dahua commented.
Cameras allegedly used to repress Uighurs
• “Dahua installed and began operating technological surveillance in 2019 and 2020 that sends “real-time Uyghur warnings” or alerts when “Uyghur facial attributes are detected” in surveillance footage [de ses caméras].»
• “Hikvision has several major projects underway in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, including the use of surveillance systems in mosques and detention centers.”
• “Survivors corroborated Hikvision’s involvement in the camps [de concentration] […] Ovalbek Turdakun, “a Chinese national of Kyrgyz origin,” was held in a camp for 10 years […] He said Hikvision cameras were “everywhere” in the camp, including the cells.
• “Turdakun described the function of the cameras as being like virtual prison guards: if they see you talking, the camera sees it and the voice says ‘don’t talk.'”
• “Tiandy has also developed a “police solution” […] which includes a “table” [intelligente] to be used with “tiger chairs”. “Tiger chairs” are used to practice torture against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims imprisoned or detained in concentration camps.”
Source: Report submitted to the Canadian government on May 16, 2024 by the Uyghur Rights Defense Project, C4ADS and Human Rights Action Group.
Cameras used across the country
Hikvision
- Sold under the names Hikvision and Ezviz
- Available online at safety equipment sites and Amazon
Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co. Ltd.
- 20 distributors and 21 registered brands in Canada
- Sold by alarm system companies as well as on Amazon
Tiandy Technologies Co. Ltd.
- Distributed by Anabon Security and Canadiantek as well as online
- Has stores and warehouses in Toronto and Vancouver
Zhejiang Uniview Technology Co. Ltd.
- Sold under the UNV brand variations and distributed mainly by security companies
- Has sales offices in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver
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