Update on Smart City Development
Implementation of electronic identity system
Mr CHAN Chun-ying noted that the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (“OGCIO”) had awarded the contracts for the development of the eID system in end-February 2019. Upon completion of the design of eID’s Application Programming Interface (“API”) in the second half of 2019, OGCIO would provide the relevant technical information to interested public organizations and private companies for their consideration in adopting eID in their online services. Mr CHAN asked whether and when the Administration would engage private organizations to participate in the development of APIs as a means to promote the popularization and adoption of eID.
Government Chief Information Officer (“GCIO”) responded that the Administration would provide interested organizations with the relevant technical information of APIs in the third quarter of 2019. OGCIO would also make available the testing environment before the end of 2019 and invite interested organizations to participate in the testing of using eID via the related APIs in their online services.
Mr CHAN Chun-ying said that according to media reports, the eID system would allow a person’s biometric features such as facial characteristics to be used for authentication through mobile applications. Personal biometric information could be stored in new identity cards which were now being issued by phases to all eligible residents in Hong Kong. The eID system was expected to come into operation in mid-2020 while the territory-wide smart identity card replacement exercise would continue until 2022. Mr CHAN queried whether holders of existing smart identity card could register and obtain their eID before they received their new identity cards.
S for IT clarified that eID was not an electronic version of smart identity card. The objective of eID was to provide a single digital identity and authentication for a Hong Kong resident to login and conduct online transactions. Either new or existing smart identity cards could be used for eID registration and usage.
Multi-functional Smart Lampposts Pilot Scheme
Mr CHAN Chun-ying noted that OCGIO, in collaboration with the Highways Department, would replace and install 52 smart lampposts in selected road sections in Kwun Tong/Kai Tak Development Area while working with five government departments (including Transport Department (“TD”), Tourism Commission, Environmental Protection Department, Hong Kong Observatory and Lands Department) to develop major functions and applications of smart lampposts. Mr CHAN asked whether the data to be collected by these smart lampposts could be used by the Hong Kong Police Force for law enforcement purposes.
The Deputy Chairman noted that a research team at the Chinese University of Hong Kong had invented an efficient linear network coding to help improve the network transmission of smart lampposts. He asked whether and how the smart devices on the lampposts would collect various types of city data to meet the operational needs of various government departments, such as law enforcement. S for IT advised that the Administration would consult the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong timely on whether the data to be collected by smart lampposts could be used for supporting law enforcement.