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China Conference: Hong Kong
Hong KongSociety

Hong Kong’s smart city ambitions being hurt by public mistrust of government, China Conference analysts say

  • Privacy fears over collection of data from Covid-19 ‘Leave Home Safe’ app highlighted as evidence of lack of public confidence in officials
  • Panellists say better communication over benefits of technology can help reduce future misunderstandings

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Andy Wong (far left), head of innovation and technology at InvestHK, Olivia Lai, managing director - Hong Kong, Global Institute For Tomorrow, Gary Yeung, president of Smart City Consortium, and moderator Bien Perez, the Post’s senior production editor, Technology, at the China Conference. Photo: SCMP
Rachel Yeo
Public mistrust of the government threatens Hong Kong’s long-term ambitions to become a smart city, according to panellists of the annual China Conference organised by the Post, who highlighted the importance of improving communication with residents to avoid future misunderstandings.
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Analysts on Thursday pointed to privacy fears surrounding the launch of the government’s Covid-19 contact-tracing app “Leave Home Safe” as an example of how public confidence was impeding Hong Kong’s technological rise.

Olivia Lai, managing director of the Hong Kong division of think tank Global Institute For Tomorrow, said the app was useful for contact tracing and keeping Covid-19 cases in check, but did not collect as much personal data as some residents think.

“This is an example where there seems to be a breakdown in communication and this inherent lack of trust in society led a lot of people to assume if [they] download this app, it’s going to take all [their] personal data and someone is going to follow [them] … which is not true,” Lai said.

“This is an example of where better communication about the benefits and needs for this technology application is important, it could have been done better.”

Hong Kong is hoping to improve its technology under the Smart City Blueprint 2.0. Photo: Shutterstock
Hong Kong is hoping to improve its technology under the Smart City Blueprint 2.0. Photo: Shutterstock

Under the Hong Kong Smart City Blueprint 2.0, the app is using innovation and technology that allows residents to log their movements by scanning QR codes at thousands of locations. It will also notify users if a person confirmed with Covid-19 has recently visited those places.

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