title: Frank Buckles

text: In April 2021, Buckles's wish to have a memorial for World War I veterans in Washington, D.C. became true. Joseph Weishaar from Fayetteville, Arkansas, who had submitted a plan to have a World War I memorial, had his plan approved and on April 16, 2021, the memorial was officially inaugurated with a flag-raising ceremony as well as military fly-over and remarks from President Joe Biden. It was hosted by actor Gary Sinise. The ceremony was limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the city. It later opened to the public.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: Adani Enterprises Limited is an Indian multinational publicly listed holding company and a part of Adani Group. It is headquartered in Ahmedabad and primarily involved in mining and trading of coal and iron ore. Through its various subsidiaries, it also has business interests in airport operations, edible oils, road, rail and water infrastructure, data centers, solar manufacturing, among others.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: The company was incorporated in 1993 under the name Adani Exports Limited. It mainly deals with the group's integrated resources management, power trading, and natural resources businesses on a standalone basis. Its general purpose is to act as an in-house incubator for Adani Group's new businesses until they become self-sustainable.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: Through its various subsidiaries, Adani Enterprises is involved in edible oils and staple foods, solar PV manufacturing, road infrastructure, water infrastructure, data centers, agri-output storage and distribution, defence and aerospace, bunkering, rail and metro infrastructure, oil exploration, petrochemicals, cement, and mass media.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: Adani Agri Fresh is involved in procurement, packaging, logistics and marketing of apples produced by farmers in Himachal Pradesh, as well as and other Indian fruits, under "Farm Pik" brand. It also imports fruits from other countries and sells them in the Indian market.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: Adani Airport Holdings is the airport management and operations subsidiary. It is the majority stakeholder in Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), which owns the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and the under-construction Navi Mumbai International Airport. In addition, the company has 50-year lease on Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Jaipur, Lucknow, Mangalore and Thiruvananthapuram international airports, starting January 2021. It will operate, manage and develop all six airports for 50 years.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: Adani Cement or Adani Cement Industries Limited (ACIL) is a cement company based in Gujarat, India. It was incorporated by Adani Group on June 11, 2021. Adani Cement is wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises and has not begun its business operations. It was reported in June 2021 that the Adani Group planned to set up a cement plant in Maharashtra which will have an initial capacity of 5-Million tonnes per annum with an approximate investment of ₹900-1,000 crore. The Group has also proposed a 10-million tonnes per annum Lakhpat cement plant, but later put the plans for that plant on hold.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: AdaniConneX was launched in 2021 as a 50:50 joint venture with EdgeConneX to develop a network of hyperscale data centers in India, starting with Chennai, Navi Mumbai, Noida, Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad. Recently Adani ConneX announced build hyperscale data center over 51.8 Acres land in Kolkata's Bengal Silicon Valley tech hub.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: It is a defense manufacturing arm of the company. It manufactures with armed drones such as Hermes 900 UAV and small arms such as IWI Negev, Tavor TAR-21, and IWI ACE. As a part of a joint venture between Elbit Systems from Israel and Adani Defence and Aerospace, a manufacturing facility for unmanned aerial vehicle have been set up at Hyderabad, Telangana, inaugurated in 2019. In April 2020, Adani Defence Systems and Technologies acquired Alpha Design Technologies Pvt Ltd., an organization involved in the design, development, and manufacture of defense electronics and avionics. Further, in September 2020, Adani acquired a 51 percent stake in PLR Systems Private Ltd which was incorporated in 2013 and engages in manufacturing and supply of indigenously built defense equipment to the armed forces. In May 2022, Adani Defence Systems and Technologies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, has signed definitive agreement to acquire a 50% stake in Bengaluru-based General Aeronautics. The company is involved with DRDO in Long-range Guided Bomb, VSHORAD, UAV launched Precision Guided Munition (ULPGM) and Rudram-1.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: Adani Enterprises operates its mines in India, Indonesia and Australia, and supplies coal to Bangladesh, China, and some countries in Southeast Asia. It has a coal mine in Bunyu, North Kalimantan, Indonesia, which produced 3.9 Mt of coal in 201617. The Group has made the largest investment by an Indian company in Australia at the controversial Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin, Queensland, but development of this mine is the subject of a court challenge to the Australian Government over its lack of adherence to environmental legislation.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: In 2020, Adani Australia, the controversial Australian mining arm of Adani Enterprises was rebranded as Bravus Mining & Resources. The new subsidiary is responsible for developing Carmichael coal mine in Central Queensland.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: Adani New Industries was incorporated in January 2022 as a wholly-owned new energy subsidiary of Adani Enterprises. It undertakes green hydrogen projects such as low-carbon power generation, as well as the manufacture of hydrogen fuel cells, wind turbines, solar modules and batteries. The company also announced that it would produce green hydrogen derivatives such as ammonia, methanol and urea. In June 2022, TotalEnergies acquired a 25% stake in Adani New Industries.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: Adani Road Transport undertakes construction, operations and maintenance of roads, highways, expressways and tollways. The company has NHAI projects in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, and West Bengal. In December 2021, it won the contract to build a 464 km stretch of the 594 km-long Ganga Expressway in Uttar Pradesh.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: Adani Solar is the solar PV manufacturing and EPC subsidiary of Adani Enterprises. As of November 2020, it is the largest integrated solar cell and module manufacturer in India.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: It was founded as a subsidiary in December 2018, with a focus on water infrastructure construction. It is currently involved in wastewater treatment, recycle and reuse projects at Prayagraj under the National Mission for Clean Ganga Framework.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: Adani Welspun Exploration is a 65:35 joint venture between Adani Group (through Adani Enterprises) and Welspun Enterprises. It is involved in oil and gas exploration.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: Incorporated in 1999, Adani Wilmar is a food processing company and a joint venture between Adani Enterprises and Wilmar International. In November 2000, Adani Wilmar launched its flagship brand "Fortune" under which it produces and sells edible oils including sunflower oil, palm oil, soybean oil, mustard oil, rice bran oil, cottonseed oil, groundnut oil and vanaspati. Apart from edible oils, it sells flour, rice, pulses, sugar, soya nuggets and instant food mixes. The company also makes personal care products like soaps, handwash and hand sanitizers under "Alife" brand. In addition, it makes industrial use products comprising oleochemicals, castor oil and lecithin.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: The company went public in January 2022 with an initial public offering, after which Adani Enterprises and Wilmar International continued to hold a combined 88% stake.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: AMG Media Networks was incorporated in April 2022 as a wholly-owned media and publishing subsidiary of Adani Enterprises. In May 2022, AMG Media Networks announced the acquisition of a 49% stake in Quintillion Business Media Ltd, which operates BQ Prime, for an undisclosed amount. Adani Enterprises had previously acquired an unspecified minority stake in the company in March 2022. In August 2022, AMG Media Networks announced that it will acquire 29.18% stake in NDTV through its subsidiary and make a tender offer to acquire another 26%.


title: Adani Enterprises

text: Former subsidiaries Adani Ports & SEZ, Adani Power and Adani Transmission were demerged from Adani Enterprises in 2015, whereas Adani Green Energy and Adani Gas were demerged in 2018.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: Altay is a Turkish modern main battle tank based on South Korean K2 Black Panther to be produced by BMC under design assistance and technology transfer by Hyundai Rotem. It is named in honor of Army General Fahrettin Altay who commanded the 5th Cavalry Corps in the final stage of the Turkish War of Independence. It is one of the most expensive tank designs with a unit cost of 13.75 million dollars. The first mass production of Altay will be combined with MKE made 55 calibre 120 mm main gun, Roketsan made advanced armor package along with Aselsan made active protection system, and Hyundai Doosan Infracore engine and SNT Dynamics transmission.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: The National Tank Production Project (Turkish: "MİTÜP – Milli Tank Üretimi Projesi") was an initiative developed in the mid-1990s to establish independent and robust infrastructure for the production, development and maintenance of main battle tanks used by the Turkish Armed Forces. In order to improve the current technical capabilities of the Turkish defense industries and increase the amount of domestic contribution towards national defense, the Undersecreteriat for Defense Industries decided that a "National Tank" will serve as a catalyst for uniting certain Turkish defense companies around a common goal and for providing the Turkish military with extra firepower in the form of a modern tank.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: The tank design benefited from design assistance and transfer of technology by Hyundai Rotem. The project was initiated with an agreement signed between Otokar and the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries of the Republic of Turkey on 30 March 2007, when the Defense Industries Executive Committee awarded a contract worth approximately $500 million to Otokar for the design, development and production of four prototypes of a national main battle tank. On July 29, 2008, Turkey and Hyundai Rotem signed a ₩500 billion (approximately US$540 million) design assistance and technology transfer contract for tank development. This contract consists of design assistance and technology transfer related to the development of systems, armor packages, and 120 mm guns necessary for the development of Altay tanks, and includes design assistance and technology transfer of Hyundai Rotem, Hyundai WIA, and Agency for Defense Development throughout the development process. The Turkish Ministry of Defense allocated a budget of $1 billion for the development of the Altay. This is Turkey's first MBT development program since 1943, when prototypes of a Turkish national tank were produced in Kırıkkale, but 1943's program never reached full-scale mass production.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: The first 3D image of the MBT was released to the public on 7 April 2010 during a press release by the Undersecreteriat for Defense Industries of the Republic of Turkey.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: In 2012, Otokar General Manager Serdar Görgüç has announced that the company is considering the development of an electric engine for the Altay. However, the electric engine probably no longer in consideration.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: The military electronics company ASELSAN manufactures and integrates the Volkan III modular fire control system, command, control and information systems, while state-owned MKEK (Mechanical and Chemical Industries Corporation) produce MKE 120 mm tank gun. Another state company ROKETSAN produce an indigenous armor.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: The first prototype Altay was ready for use by the end of 2016. Once the prototypes are produced and tested, the Undersecreteriat for Defense Industries of the Republic of Turkey will prepare and execute a separate order for the first lot of 250 tanks. A total of 1000 MBTs are planned to be produced in four separate lots of 250 units. Every delivered lot is expected to have additional upgrades.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: Otokar completed all infrastructure planning and programming for mass production. Koç Holding Vice Chair and Otokar Chair Ali Koç said mass production was expected to start 18–22 months after their offer was accepted.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: However, on 9 November 2018, Turkish Presidency of Defense Industries signed agreement with BMC for mass production of the tank. In the process, BMC replaced Otokar as the main contractor and responsible for further developments.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: The production of Altay has been delayed since 2018, as the programme was relying on German 1,500 hp MTU engines and RENK transmissions, because of the German federal arms embargo on Turkey due to their involvement in the Syrian Civil War.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: However, BMC Power, a subsidiary of BMC, replaced MTU as engine subcontractor for 1,500 hp engine. BMC Power is the designer and manufacturer of the serial production BATU V12 1,500 hp engine.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: On 10 March 2021, BMC announced that it plans to import a Korean power pack that combines Doosan Infracore (now Hyundai Doosan Infracore) DV27K engine and SNT Dynamics EST15K transmission and complete the performance test of the Altay tank according to Turkey's own standards as soon as possible.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: On 11 August 2021, the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced that it was looking for a Korean company to develop an improved SNT Dynamics EST15K transmission for use in Altay and K2 Black Panther.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: On 7 October 2021, the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced that it is looking for a Korean company to develop a indigenous Transmission control unit to replace the German Transmission control unit used in the SNT Dynamics EST15K transmission to export transmissions to Turkey.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: On 22 October 2021, Kang Eun-ho, head of South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration, said he had approved the export of Hyundai Doosan Infracore DV27K engines and SNT Dynamics EST15K transmissions to Turkey during a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visiting South Korea.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: At the Antalya Diplomacy Forum held on March 11, 2022, Professor Ismail Demir, president of Turkish Defense Industries (SSB), revealed that he was testing Hyundai Doosan Infracore DV27K engine and SNT Dynamics EST15K transmission imported from South Korea and he said in May that he will be able to see a prototype of Altay, which combines Korean engines and transmissions.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: On August 2022, the durability test of the powerpack combined with the DV27K engine and EST15K transmission imported from South Korea is underway, and if the durability test succeeds, the first 250 Altay will be produced by integrating the Korean powerpack.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: Subsequently, in accordance with the later Defense Industries Executive Committee ruling, subcontractors were selected as follows:


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: On 29 April 2009, the Subsecretary for Defence Industries of Turkey, Murad Bayar has confirmed at the 9th IDEX International, Defense Industry Fair in Abu Dhabi, that the Turkish tank will be manufactured using only Turkish resources. He added that the research started last week and that he expected to create an authentic tank model specially designed for the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces within 3 years.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: As of September 2010, with approval of the tank subsystems and software by Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, Conceptual Design Phase of the Altay project has been completed. Thus, the project advanced to Detailed Design Phase scheduled to last 30.5 months. The scope of the Detailed Design Phase is to design and integrate interfaces for the selected tank subsystems.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: On 15 December 2010, Defence Industry Executive Committee decided to start the development of national power pack.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: On 10 May 2011, Aselsan was contracted by the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries to design and develop two Battlefield Target Identification Device (BTID) prototypes.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: On 18 October 2012, the first Altay was put on trials although lacking side skirts and using a mock-up turret to simulate a real turret.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: On 16 November 2012, two Altay prototypes successfully passed initial acceptance tests, paving the way for serial production 2 years earlier than expected, with two more prototypes to be built by 2013 or 2014.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: On 7 November 2016, all Otokar made prototypes had been delivered to the Turkish Land Forces, and their acceptance tests were expected to finish in the last quarter of 2016 or early 2017.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: In May 2019, BMC made latest prototype (demonstrator) of the Altay T1 was unveiled by the company during the IDEF defense exhibition.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: The tank will benefit both from indigenously developed systems and from technologies of the K2 Black Panther, accorded by an agreement signed with South Korea. The main armament of the tank is the 120 mm 55 caliber smoothbore gun, which was redesigned under license based on the CN08 120 mm gun of the K2 Black Panther. the thermal sleeve of the gun barrel is equipped with a gun stabilizer configured with a static muzzle reference system (SMRS).


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: The armor package was modified based on the K1A1 and K2's Korean Special Armor Plate (KSAP), but was redesigned for higher ballistic protection in the Altay and will include CBRN defense elements, to protect it from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: The planned maximum speed of the first batch is set at , provided by an engine and the MBTs will be able to function under of water. The first mass production tank will be powered by 1,500 hp (1,110 kW) DV27K engines and EST15K transmissions (6 forward, 3 reverse gears) designed by Hyundai Doosan Infracore and SNT Dynamics in South Korea. whereas the latter batches may powered by an BMC Power BATU V12 12 cylinder V type engine.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: While moving at high speeds, to evade ATGM attacks, sudden braking and manoeuvering at severe angles are capabilities that were taken into consideration from early developmental stages. An isolated ammunition compartment (turret bustle) is designed to protect tank crew, alongside fire and explosion suppression systems which are to activate when hit or when the tank is involved in an accident. The tank is to be equipped with sensors for the detection of contaminated air from chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. The tank also has hunter-killer engagement capability.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: According to reports, a military envoy from Colombia was present at the 2010 press meeting hosted by the Undersecreteriat for Defense Industries of the Republic of Turkey to obtain more information about the tank.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: In April 2013, officials of the Saudi Arabian Army reportedly became interested in the Altay main battle tank, and at IDEF-2013, the Azerbaijan Army expressed interest in the Altay tank.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: Additionally, Otokar placed a bid for 77 Altays for a tender in Oman in August 2013. In January 2016, Turkey reported that the Altay had received interest from Pakistan and Gulf Arab countries.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: In March 2019, a senior Turkish politician stated an order for 100 tanks was placed by Qatar and that the first 40 of these would be delivered in the coming two years.


title: Altay (main battle tank)

text: The Altay won the Turkish army contract, estimated at $3.5B and signed on 9 November 2018 for a batch of 250 tanks. Three more similar batches are expected.


title: Austin O'Brien

text: Austin Taylor O'Brien (born May 11, 1981) is an American actor and photographer. He is known for playing the co-lead Danny Madigan in the Arnold Schwarzenegger film "Last Action Hero", followed by his turn into romance as Nick Zsigmond in "My Girl 2", a part in both "The Lawnmower Man" and , and as Josh Greene in the CBS drama "Promised Land". He originally gained fame from a Circuit City commercial as a kid who, after finding out he had saved money, says, "Cool" to the store's employee.


title: Austin O'Brien

text: O'Brien was born in Eugene, Oregon, to Valerie and Dan O'Brien. His elder sister is actress Amanda O'Brien and his younger brother is actor Trever O'Brien.


title: Cadastre

text: A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.


title: Cadastre

text: In most countries, legal systems have developed around the original administrative systems and use the cadastre to define the dimensions and location of land parcels described in legal documentation.


title: Cadastre

text: A land parcel or cadastral parcel is defined as "a continuous area, or more appropriately volume, that is identified by a unique set of homogeneous property rights".


title: Cadastre

text: Cadastral surveys document the boundaries of land ownership, by the production of documents, diagrams, sketches, plans ("plats" in the US), charts, and maps. They were originally used to ensure reliable facts for land valuation and taxation. An example from early England is the Domesday Book in 1086. Napoleon established a comprehensive cadastral system for France that is regarded as the forerunner of most modern versions.


title: Cadastre

text: Cadastral survey information is often a base element in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) or Land Information Systems (LIS) used to assess and manage land and built infrastructure. Such systems are also employed on a variety of other tasks, for example, to track long-term changes over time for geological or ecological studies, where land tenure is a significant part of the scenario.


title: Cadastre

text: A cadastre commonly includes details of the ownership, the tenure, the precise location (therefore GNSS coordinates are not used due to errors such as multipath), the dimensions (and area), the cultivations if rural, and the value of individual parcels of land. Cadastres are used by many nations around the world, some in conjunction with other records, such as a title register.


title: Cadastre

text: A Cadastre is normally a parcel based, and up-to-date land information system containing a record of interests in land (e.g. rights, restrictions and responsibilities). It usually includes a geometric description of land parcels linked to other records describing the nature of the interests, the ownership or control of those interests, and often the value of the parcel and its improvements.


title: Cadastre

text: The word "cadastre" came into English through French from the Greek (), a list or register, from ()—literally, "(organised) line by line".


title: Cadastre

text: Some of the earliest cadastres were ordered by Roman Emperors to recover state owned lands that had been appropriated by private individuals, and thereby recover income from such holdings. One such cadastre was done in AD 77 in Campania, a surviving stone marker of the survey reads "The Emperor Vespasian, in the eighth year of his tribunician power, so as to restore the state lands which the Emperor Augustus had given to the soldiers of Legion II Gallica, but which for some years had been occupied by private individuals, ordered a survey map to be set up with a record on each 'century' of the annual rental". In this way Vespasian was able to reimpose taxation formerly uncollected on these lands.


title: Cadastre

text: With the fall of Rome the use of cadastral maps effectively discontinued. Medieval practice used written descriptions of the extent of land rather than using more precise surveys. Only in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries did the use of cadastral maps resume, beginning in the Netherlands. With the emergence of capitalism in Renaissance Europe the need for cadastral maps reemerged as a tool to determine and express control of land as a means of production. This took place first privately in land disputes and later spread to governmental practice as a means of more precise tax assessment.


title: Cadastre

text: A "cadastral map" is a map that shows the boundaries and ownership of land parcels. Some cadastral maps show additional details, such as survey district names, unique identifying numbers for parcels, certificate of title numbers, positions of existing structures, section or lot numbers and their respective areas, adjoining and adjacent street names, selected boundary dimensions and references to prior maps.


title: Cadastre

text: Cadastral documentation comprises the documentary materials submitted to cadastre or land administration offices for renewal of cadastral recordings. Cadastral documentation is kept in paper and/or electronic form. Jurisdiction statutes and further provisions specify the content and form of the documentation, as well as the person(s) authorized to prepare and sign the documentation, including concerned parties (owner, etc.), licensed surveyors and legal advisors. The office concerned reviews the submitted information; if the documentation does not comply with stated provisions, the office may set a deadline for the applicant to submit complete documentation.


title: Cadastre

text: The concept of cadastral documentation emerged late in the English language, as the institution of cadastre developed outside English-speaking countries. In a Danish textbook, one out of fifteen chapters regards the form and content of documents concerning subdivision and other land matters. Early textbooks of international scope focused on recordings in terms of land registration and technical aspects of cadastral survey, yet note that 'cadastral surveying has been carried out within a tight framework of legislation'. With the view of assessing transaction costs, a European project: Modelling real property transactions (2001–2005) charted procedures for the transfer of ownership and other rights in land and buildings. Cadastral documentation is described, e.g. for Finland as follows '8. Surveyor draws up cadastral map and cadastral documents .. 10. Surveyor sends cadastral documents to cadastral authority.' In Australia, similar activities are referred to as 'lodgement of plans of subdivision at land titles offices'


title: Cadastre

text: Cadastre management has been used by the software industry since at least 2005. It mainly refers to the use of technology for management of cadastre and land information in geographic information systems, spatial data infrastructures and software architecture, rather than to general management issues of cadastral and other land information agencies.


title: Cadastre

text: In the United States, Cadastral Survey within the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) maintains records of all public lands. Such surveys often require detailed investigation of the history of land use, legal accounts, and other documents.


title: Cadastre

text: The Public Lands Survey System is a cadastral survey of the United States originating in legislation from 1785, after international recognition of the United States. The Dominion Land Survey is a similar cadastral survey conducted in Western Canada begun in 1871 after the creation of the Dominion of Canada in 1867. Both cadastral surveys are made relative to principal meridian and baselines. These cadastral surveys divided the surveyed areas into townships, square land areas of approximately 36 square miles (six miles by six miles; some very early surveys in Ohio created 25 square mile townships when the design of the system was being explored). These townships are divided into sections, each approximately one-mile square. Unlike in Europe this cadastral survey largely preceded settlement and as a result greatly influenced settlement patterns. Properties are generally rectangular, boundary lines often run on cardinal bearings, and parcel dimensions are often in fractions or multiples of chains. Land descriptions in Western North America are principally based on these land surveys.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Mass surveillance in the People's Republic of China (PRC) is the network of monitoring systems used by the Chinese central government to monitor Chinese citizens. It is primarily conducted through the government, although corporate surveillance in connection with the Chinese government has been reported to occur. China monitors its citizens through internet, camera as well as through other digital technologies. It has become increasingly widespread and grown in sophistication under General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Xi Jinping's administration.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Mass surveillance has significantly expanded under the PRC Cybersecurity Law (2016) and with the help of local companies like Tencent, Dahua Technology, Hikvision, SenseTime, ByteDance, Megvii, Huawei and ZTE, among many others. As of 2019, it is estimated that 200 million monitoring CCTV cameras of the "Skynet" system have been put to use in mainland China, four times the number of surveillance cameras in the United States. By 2020, the number of surveillance cameras in mainland China is expected to reach 626 million. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the implementation of mass surveillance as it has provided a plausible pretext to do so.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Mass surveillance in China emerged in the Maoist era after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Mao invented this mechanism of control that encompassed the entire nation and its people in order to strengthen his power in the newly founded government. In the early years, when technology was relatively undeveloped in China, mass surveillance was accomplished through disseminating information by word of mouth. Chinese people kept a watchful eye on one another and reported inappropriate behaviors that infringed upon the dominant social ideals of the time. According to a publication from 1987, computer and Internet technology spread to China in the late 20th century as a result of the Chinese economic reform.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In 2005, the Chinese government created a mass surveillance system called Skynet. The government revealed Skynet's existence in 2013, by which time the network included over 20 million cameras. In addition to monitoring the general public, cameras were installed outside mosques in the Xinjiang region, temples in Tibet, and the homes of dissidents.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In 2017, the Chinese government encouraged the use of various mobile phone apps as part of a broader surveillance push. Local regulators launched mobile apps for national security purposes and to allow citizens to report violations.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: As of 2018, the most notable surveillance mechanisms were mass camera surveillance on the streets, internet surveillance, and newly invented surveillance methods based on social credit and identity.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: As of 2018, the Chinese central government had also adopted facial recognition technology, surveillance drones, robot police, and big data collection targeting online social media platforms to monitor its citizens.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In 2019 NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden said China's mass surveillance mechanisms and machinery of private communications was "utterly mind-boggling". As of 2019, it was estimated that 200 million monitoring CCTV cameras of the "Skynet" system had been put to use in mainland China, four times as many as the surveillance cameras in the United States. State media in China claim that Skynet is the largest video surveillance system in the world, utilizing facial recognition technology and big data analysis. In 2019, "Comparitech" reported that 8 out of 10 most monitored cities in the world are in China, with Chongqing, Shenzhen and Shanghai being the world's top 3. In 2019, China supplied surveillance technology to most of the world, and positioned the country in control over the mass surveillance industry.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: According to industry researcher IHS Markit, at the end of 2019 there were 770 million surveillance cameras in the world, with approximately 415.8 million of them located in China. If these trends continue, by the end of 2021 there will be about 1 billion in the world and 540 million in China. The government says this prevents crime, but citizens worry that their data and privacy could be compromised. In late October 2020, Deng Yufeng, an artist, used performance art to highlight how difficult it is to dodge the view of security cameras.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: The Chinese government has been strengthening its tight control over the Internet and digital communication. There are more than 750 million Internet users in China, and their online actions are strictly regulated. In 2017, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) released a new regulation, which imposed restrictions on the production and distribution of online news. The regulation required all platforms, such as online blogs, forums, websites, and social media apps to be managed by party-sanctioned editorial staff. These staff must obtain approval from the national or local government Internet and information offices and be trained by the central government. As required by the Chinese government, major internet platforms and messaging services in China established elaborate self-censorship mechanisms. Some have hired teams of thousands to police content and invested in powerful artificial intelligence algorithms. In 2019, on the 30th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, China's AI censors cranked up.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Launched in 2011, WeChat, China's most popular messaging app, is under surveillance by Internet police. Any message sent through a WeChat group is monitored by the Chinese technology giant Tencent, the application's operator. All conversations are stored for six months. Even conversations deleted by WeChat users can be retrieved back by Tencent, especially when government authorities seek evidence of a suspect's illegal activities. Authorities have admitted that they can retrieve archived messages once sent on WeChat. Nevertheless, Tencent CEO Ma Huateng stated that his company will not use user chats for big data analysis or invade users' privacy.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In 2017, the Chinese government required all users of Sina Weibo, microblogging site, to register with their real names and identity numbers by September 15 of that year. Weibo users who refused to register their accounts with real names were not able to post, repost, and comment on the site.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: At the beginning of 2018, Ma Huateng, chairman and CEO of Tencent, claimed that WeChat's monthly active users across the globe reached a billion for the first time. Since Tencent cooperates with the central government to implement self-censorship and mass surveillance, it enjoys dominance of its industry in China. Other messaging apps, such as WhatsApp, Messenger, and Line are mostly blocked or even forced out of the Chinese market.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Chinese Internet users have several ways to circumvent censorship. Netizens generally rely on virtual private networks (VPNs) to access blocked websites and messaging apps. However, in July 2017, the Chinese government required telecommunications carriers including China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom to block individual access to VPNs by February 1. In August 2017, more than 60 VPNs, such as Astrill and Express VPN, were removed from China's App Store. VPNs that are allowed to be used in China must be approved by state regulators and use the state network infrastructure. Instead of sensitive words which can be censored online, Chinese netizens use puns and Chinese homophones to communicate.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: The Chinese government has been denouncing sex and pornography culture and actively establishes "sex education" for teenagers and high school students in order to prevent them from developing an interest in this culture.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: , there have been sections in China's criminal law which explicitly forbid the production, dissemination, or sale of obscene material, for which people can be imprisoned. In the 1980s, there was a campaign against "spiritual pollution", referring to sex-related content. In 2018, a Chinese erotic writer who wrote and sold a gay porn novel named "Occupy" online was sentenced to a ten-and-a-half year prison sentence. , conservative attitudes toward sex talk have remained standard amongst the general public.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: By 2018, the Chinese government had installed close to 200 million surveillance cameras across the country, which amounts to approximately one camera per seven citizens. At the same time, approximately 40 million surveillance cameras were active in the United States in 2014, which amounts to approximately one camera per eight citizens; however, these are largely installed by homeowners and stores rather than the government. According to official statistics in 2012, more than 660 of the mainland's 676 cities use surveillance systems. In Guangdong province, 1.1 million cameras were installed in 2012, with plans to increase the number to two million by 2015 at a predicted cost of 12.3 billion yuan. By 2020, the Chinese government expects to integrate private and public cameras, leveraging the country's technological expertise in facial recognition technology to build a nationwide surveillance network.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: The facial recognition technology has technological and systematic limitations. For example, a supervisor at an AI firm that provides research support for this technology has stated that the system of activity profile can only look for a maximum of a thousand people in one search. Additionally, the system cannot work continuously for long periods of time, requiring reactivation in cases of extreme need.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: The National Information Security Standardization Technical Committee (全国信标委生物特征识别分技术委), which is subordinate to the China Communications Standards Association, started a project in November 2019 to create mandatory standards for facial recognition in China. The project is led by SenseTime and has been assigned to a working group comprising 27 Chinese companies. Also Chinese companies are working to shape United Nations' standards for facial recognition, video surveillance of cities and vehicles, with ZTE, Dahua Technology, China Telecom and others proposing standards to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: China has highly advanced facial recognition technology. The technology is integrated with others, such as big data and AI, to build a national surveillance and data sharing platform. The smart system is equipped with facial recognition technology to record jaywalkers and non-motor vehicles that break traffic rules. When shopping in the self-service markets of Alibaba and Jingdong, two top Chinese e-commerce companies, customers can use electronic payments through the facial recognition system, which links them with their bank cards. Moreover, Baidu, a Chinese multinational technology company, cooperated with China Southern Airlines to install the facial recognition technology in Nanyang Jiangying Airport, Henan for boarding.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Robot police have been installed in public places such as train stations, museums, and tourist attractions.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Furthermore, the Chinese government uses big data technology in order to analyze and monitor people's online behavior, such as Sesame Credit, which ranks its users based on their online activities along with its previously mentioned functions.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In connection with camera surveillance, the Chinese government was believed to be developing a social credit system that gives their citizens a numerical score by analyzing their social behaviors and collecting fiscal and government data, and accordingly punishing and rewarding them with that score. However, new reports state that such information false, with the social credit system being low-tech, with no unified score for citizens and mainly focusing on fraudulent and unethical businesses who renege on debt repayments, financial agreements or fail to honor legal contracts.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Smart cities began rolling out in 2003 and China is host to hundreds of smart city pilot programs aiming to measure, track and analyse data from every aspect of city life including air quality, traffic flow, congestion and waste water disposal. A key component of smart cities includes the installation of public security cameras in order to more effectively deter crime and anti-social behaviour, however critics have stated the projects are also used as a form of social control in order to target dissidents and crackdown on any potential unrest.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Skynet is an interlinked system of facial recognition software enabled surveillance cameras currently in operation in 16 Chinese provinces used to help public security organs crack down on crime and identify citizens in public through cross reference with criminal and national identity databases held by the Ministry of Public Security and the National Citizen Identity Information Center (NCIIC). According to CCP-owned tabloid "Global Times", the system is fast enough to scan the entire population of the People's Republic of China in under a second and allegedly has an accuracy rate of 99.8%


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In 2020, reporting by Human Rights Watch indicated that public security bureaus (PSB's) across the country began implementing "Police Cloud" systems in order to aggregate data from healthcare, social media activity and internet browsing activity, reportedly to track and predict the activities of activists, dissidents, and ethnic minorities, including those alleged to be in possession of "extreme thoughts". The Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission plans to construct a network of police clouds in every provincial and municipal public security bureau, eventually interlinking them together in one unified national police cloud system.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: The police cloud system aims to integrate information from all available sources to public security bureaus including but not limited to: residential addresses, family relations, birth control information, religious affiliations, hotel, flight records, train records, biometrics, CCTV footage, mail delivery information and information shared across from other government departments. Reporting by Human Rights Watch also revealed PSB's also intended to purchase data such as navigation data on the internet (browsing histories) and the logistical purchase and transaction records of major e-commerce companies from third party brokers in order to more effective predict crime while crack down and target any potential dissent.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Sharp eyes () is a project which aims to aims to surveil a hundred percent of public space using surveillance in China by 2020, according to the 13th Five Year Plan released in 2016. Although it is questionable whether such targets outlined in the plan have been achieved, the 14th Five Year Plan continues with the project, instructing public security organs to: "closely guard against, and crack down on, the infiltration, sabotage, subversion and separatist activities by hostile forces"


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Digital RMB or digital Yuan is a centralised digital currency issued by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) in order to facilitate transactions as a supplement and possible eventual replacement of a physical national currency. As of 2021, the project is still pilot stage rolling out across select Chinese cities. Widespread adoption would theoretically allow authorities to see economic activity in real time in addition to all financial transactions which occur in an economy leading to greater surveillance and ability to maintain social control using techniques such as restricting transactions of certain entities or groups, optimising surveillance to the individual level.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: The public records or Dang'an () literally: "archived record/file". Is a permanent dossier or archival system that records the "performance and attitudes" of citizens of mainland China. Together with the current system of household registration, the Hukou system, it has been an important mechanism of social control. The contents of the file include physical characteristics, employment records, photograph, appraisals by supervisors and peers, academic reports from primary school to university, professional credentials, criminal convictions or administrative penalties, club/society memberships, employment records and political history such as membership in the Communist Youth League and or party membership. If an individual is a party member, the file will also include membership assessments of political integrity and performance of duties. Death certificate and eulogy may also be placed in file. In 2001, a human rights group claimed Public Security Bureaus located throughout the country were in the process of digitising hundreds of millions of dang'an. The dang'an system is the precursor or foundation of the social credit system in that data stored within dossiers are pulled into a broader pool of data and amalgamated together with data pulled from other sources in order to provide a more complete picture of an individual's movements, actions and life.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: All Chinese citizens are required to hold a national identity card from the age of 16. The resident ID card () acts as a national ID card and contains basic identifying information such as photograph, residential address, gender, ethnicity, date of birth and fingerprints of both thumbs embedded on an IC chip. Card information is stored within the National Population Basic Information Database () administered by the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. The resident ID card acts as the primary form of identification for citizens within China and is required for almost all basic government services and administrative tasks in everyday life. In March 2022, Chinese premier Li Keqiang stated that the government was planning the roll out of digital national ID cards with national rollout scheduled for an unspecified date.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Household registration or Hukou () has been in existence since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and since imperial times. The "Hukou" or family registration system lists the members of an individual's immediate family and any extended relatives which may be connected to the individual in addition to births, deaths, marriages, divorces and relocations and other movements.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Hukou is divided into either agricultural or urban status and acts as a form of social control through restricting the area in which an individual and his or her children can obtain access to education, healthcare, housing, employment and or other government services. The system also acts as a convenient method for the state to exert collective punishment i.e. individuals who commit or engage in acts of dissent may have their family arrested or detained for leverage.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In recent years Hukou information has been utilised extensively to suppress dissent both at home and abroad in Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign, specifically operation Fox Hunt in which suspects accused of corruption in China are coerced into returning to home to face charges for fear of consequences which may befall their family and or extended relatives residing in country. The Ministry of Public Security manages the National Basic Population Information Database (NBPIB) as part of the Golden Shield Project which contains digitised Hukou information in addition to information on past travels and criminal history. The database contains information on 96% of the Chinese population.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Household registration is governed by the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Household Registration" issued in 1958 which states:


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In accordance with the Entry Exit Administration Law of the People's Republic of China, all persons entering the country or upon moving to each new region within China must register their residency by obtaining a temporary residence permit at the nearest Public Security Bureau or PSB within 24 hours of arrival. Failure to do so may result in fines of up to 2,000 RMB or detention.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Hotels hosting the stay of foreigners or non-PRC nationals are obligated to report and upload information to platforms stipulated by the PSB's in each respective area. The regulation is reminiscent of soviet practice in that it is designed to closely surveil all foreign nationals in the event they may be potential spies which pose a risk to national security in addition to being able to quickly respond or detain anyone who may be in violation of laws or disrupt public order.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: On July 11, 2020, state media outlet Xinhua announced that local party committees and officials including neighbourhood management committees would be empowered to engage in law enforcement activities and hand out administrative punishments of residents within their perimeters. According to a high level opinion document: "[Officials at] township, village and neighbourhood [level] shall be given administrative law enforcement powers...while existing law enforcement powers and resources shall be integrated".


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: According to directives sent out in 2018, the grid system carves up city neighbourhoods into a grid pattern containing 15-20 households per square, with each grid appointed a designated monitor who reports back on residents' affairs to local party committees. According to reporting by RFA the task of a "grid monitor" for a neighbourhood committee is to: "fully understand the residents of their grid, including exactly who lives where, which organizations they belong to, and the sort of lives they lead".


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: The devolvement of law enforcement powers down to the county and village levels has been described as "unprecedented" with potential to lead to "major turmoil" and social unrest due to the fact village and local party cadres lack the ability or necessary legal knowledge to enforce laws.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Since all citizens of China are required to carry a national ID card, the resident ID card is the only acceptable form of government issued identification for a variety of services including the purchase of SIM cards, plane tickets, high speed train tickets, banking, financial services, education and healthcare. Further, real name registration is mandatory for internet access in China and as of December 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology required that all individuals wishing to purchase SIM cards in China submit to facial recognition scans in order to tie mobile phone numbers, text messaging and internet browsing activity to real name identities.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: The Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China passed in 2017 by the Standing Committee of the National Peoples's Congress (NPCSC) mandates that providers of instant messaging services, telecommunications and internet service providers companies as well as domain name registration providers verify the real ID of users prior to provision of service.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: As a result of the passage of the cybersecurity law, network operators (widely believed to refer to internet service providers) are required to maintain unspecified "network logs" for at least 6 months. Although the exact definition of what constitute network logs remains unclear, it has been interpreted by Jones Day and other international law firms to refer to web logs or internet browsing history.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In 2007, the state-run China Internet Information Center reported that the world's largest ID database hosting over 1.3 billion entries was complete. NCIIC or the National Citizen Identity Information Center is located in Beijing and is the backbone of the National ID card system used throughout China by banking, financial services, healthcare, education and various government agencies, the law enforcement apparatus, internet service providers and social media platforms to verify the real ID information of users and customers who wish to use their services.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: From 8 February 2021, Chinese embassies started requiring the submission of biometrics including photographs and the fingerprints from all 10 fingers as a pre-requisite for visa applications.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Since February 2017, the Ministry of Public Security in conjunction with its child agency China Immigration Inspection (CII) have required all foreign nationals entering the People's Republic of China to submit biometric information including an in person facial scan and as well as fingerprints from all 10 fingers as a national security measure.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Legislative basis is provided by article 7 of the Entry Exit Administration Law of the People's Republic of China and since implementation, the scheme has already resulted in the cancellation of some covert dual citizenship holders attempting to obtain or renew Chinese passports (Chinese nationality law does not allow for dual citizenship).


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Current biometrics scanning equipment used by China Immigration Inspection is manufactured by Chinese company Max Vision.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Following an attack at the Kunming railway station in Southern China, the Chinese government began mandating security screening prior to entrance at metro and train stations across China. In 2021 four subway stations in Guangzhou began in the southern city of Guangzhou began allowing people to use a biometric security gate instead of going through a security check by station staff. In 2019, the South China Morning Post reported that Beijing metro would also begin sorting passengers using facial recognition based on information pulled from the social credit system and criminal offending databases. Commuters who exhibited anti-social behaviour or had previous bad credit scores would also be penalised under the system.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In mainland China, one of the most important ongoing projects is a Skynet project with an installation of more than 200 million video surveillance cameras. The real-time pedestrian tracking and recognition system can precisely identify people's clothing, gender, and age, as well as both motor and non-motor vehicles. Additionally, the surveillance system can instantly match a person's image with their personal identification and information. Golden Shield is a giant mechanism of censorship and surveillance that blocks tens of thousands of websites that may present negative reports about the CCP's narrative and control.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: The Chinese government sent groups of cadres to Tibetan villages as part of the Benefit the Masses campaign in 2012. The purpose of the campaign was to improve service and living quality in Tibet and to educate the locals about the importance of social stability and adherence to the CCP. The local people were also supervised in order to prevent uprisings from taking place.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In Tibet, users of mobile phones and the Internet must identify themselves by name. The government reported that the program had reached full realization in June 2013. An official said that "the real-name registration is conducive to protecting citizens' personal information and curbing the spread of detrimental information".


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In 2018, during the Saga Dawa, the holy fourth month for Tibetan Buddhists, the government enforced stricter rules in Lhasa, according to the "Global Times". People were also discouraged from engaging in religious practices in this month. When they did, they were supervised closely.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: As a method of protesting, some Tibetans have engaged in immolation, which is a tradition of protest against Chinese control that was first practiced in the mid-20th century.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In Xinjiang and especially its capital city, Ürümqi, there are security checkpoints and identification stations almost everywhere. People need to show their ID cards and have their faces scanned by cameras at a security station before entering a supermarket, a hotel, a train station, a highway station, or other public place. The ratio of police officers stationed in Xinjiang to population is higher than elsewhere. This strict enforcement of security checks is partly a response to the separatist movement in 2009 associated with Uyghurs. Additionally, the cameras on streets are denser there than elsewhere, numbering 40,000. The information collected by the cameras is matched with individual profiles, which include previously collected biometric data, such as DNA samples and voice samples. People are rated on a level of trustworthiness based on their profiles, which also takes into account their familial relations and social connections. These levels include "trustworthy", "average", and "untrustworthy". The data is fed into the Integrated Joint Operations Platform (), an AI-powered system used for mass surveillance which generates lists of suspects for detention.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Xinjiang residents, especially those from the Uyghur ethnic group, are not allowed to practice certain religious acts. They are also more actively and strictly monitored by surveillance apps, voice printing, and facial recognition cameras. Since 2017, the government has set up internment camps in Xinjiang to force citizens into compliance. People in the re-education camps are usually closely watched by guards and are not allowed to contact others outside the facilities, including family members and other close relations. They learn about Mandarin Chinese characters and the rules that they need to follow in those camps as well as outside once they leave.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: The security spending in Xinjiang ballooned in 2017, witnessing an increase of 90% to $8.52 billion as compared to that in 2016. Since at least 2017, Chinese police have forced Uyghurs in Xinjiang to install the Jingwang Weishi app on their phones, allowing for remote monitoring of the phones' contents.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: That same year, Chinese drone manufacturer DJI signed a cooperation agreement with local police to provide surveillance drones in support of their operations. In 2018, China deployed a flock of drones disguised to look like birds to step up surveillance levels in region.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: The Integrated Joint Operations Platform (IJOP, 一体化联合作战平台), used by the government to monitor the population, particularly Uyghurs, was reported by "The Washington Post" and Human Rights Watch (HRW) in 2018. The platform gathers biometrics, including DNA samples, to track individuals in Xinjiang.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In November 2019, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published the China Cables, consisting of six documents, an "operations manual" for running the camps and detailed use of predictive policing and AI to target people and regulate life inside the camps.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In late 2020, HRW obtained a list of 2000 names of Uyghur prisoners held in the Aksu prefecture leaked from IJOP. The list showed that reasons for imprisonment included religious practice such as studying the Koran without state permission or having a long beard, using software or online services such as a VPN, travelling outside of Aksu, switching off one's phone repeatedly, or having "extremist thoughts". The leaked IJOP list provided detailed, day-to-day evidence on the workings of the Xinjiang re-education camps that "The Guardian" described as "unprecedented". An earlier list, the Karakax (or Qaraqash) list, leaked in February 2020, showed decision-making about retaining or releasing detainees.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement, a pro-democracy campaign, aims to demand full democracy so that Hong Kong's citizens can have the right to nominate and elect the head of the Hong Kong government. However, key pro-democracy figures, such as some lawmakers, academics, and political activists, are under the central government's surveillance. Some activists engaged in the umbrella movement have been intimidated or arrested by policemen. News reports, social media posts, and images about Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests are censored in mainland China.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Internet users and civil society groups in Hong Kong have been facing cyber-attacks and debated threats to privacy online during the past few years. In June 2014, a white paper on the "one country, two systems" agreement issued by Beijing articulated that the central government has comprehensive jurisdiction over Hong Kong and that the power to run local affairs is authorized by the central government.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Like in mainland China, all residents of Hong Kong are required to hold an IC or identity card, known as the Hong Kong Identity Card or HKID issued by the immigration department in accordance with the Registration of Persons Ordinance (Cap. 177) stating that: "all residents of age 11 or above who are living in Hong Kong for longer than 180 days must, within 30 days of either reaching the age of 11 or arriving in Hong Kong, register for an HKID".


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In addition to containing standard biographical information such as name, age and sex, the card contains a chip which contains the fingerprint scans of two thumbprints of the holder.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: National ID's are a characteristic of surveillance states in that the ID is part of the "daily papers" individuals are required to carry on them at all times in order to access government, banking or other financial and social services. Holders of HKID's can pass through customs checkpoints faster at ports of entry throughout the city by scanning their fingerprints when entering.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Since the passage of the Hong Kong national security law, or 'Law on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region', Hong Kong has been the target of creeping authoritarianism from mainland Chinese government through a variety of methods including stacking the legislative council with pro-Beijing candidates, arrest of opposition leaders and disqualification of candidates of the legislative council considered insufficiently "patriotic". The law also created the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region otherwise known as the "Central People's Government National Security Office" (CPGNSO), an agency which allows mainland law enforcement officers and agents to operate on Hong Kong jurisdiction without permission from Hong Kong police or the HKSAR government.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: On November 11, 2020, the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) adopted a decision disqualifying Hong Kong legislators who "publicize or support independence", "seek foreign interference", or pursue "other activities that endanger national security". The "reforms" as referred to by Beijing, paved the way for the insertion of loyalists and subsequent proposal and passage of series of laws considered authoritarian including on patriotic education, sim card registration and laws preventing the doxing of police officers of the HKPF.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: On July 21, 2021, the Hong Kong Legislative Council began talks to implement "anti-doxing" laws in response to the 2019-pro democracy protests in which members of the Hong Kong Police Force and certain judges were doxed or had their personal information such as names, addresses, names of family members, details of children and schools attended leaked to the public in retribution for violence or police brutality encountered during the course of the protests. Critics of the legislation, including human rights and tech industry groups stated that the measures could be used to protect those in power and target civil society. Under the proposed laws, violators could face fines of up to HK$1 million ($128,736) and five years in prison.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: The law also empowers the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data to access electronic devices without warrant. In response Asia Internet Coalition an advocacy group consisting of Google, Facebook and Twitter, warned in a June 25 letter to the commissioner that tech companies could stop offering their services in Hong Kong if changes were enacted since "the measures were "not aligned with global norms and trends", and that any legislation that could curb freedom of speech "must be built upon principles of necessity and proportionality".


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: On June 2, 2021, the cabinet body of Hong Kong known as the Executive Council or "ExCo" announced from March 2022, that all purchasers of SIM cards would be required to provide their identity card number, date of birth, and a copy of their identification document when purchasing a SIM Card in Hong Kong. Edward Yau, the Secretary of Commerce and Economic Development described the amendment as an: "overdue move to fight crime". Yau also claimed that among the 100,000 submissions received during consultation that 70 percent supported the arrangements.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: According to the details of the legislation, from September 1, operators will be given 180 days to implement a system to store customers' registration details and from March 1, 2022, users would be given 360 days to register any pre-paid sim cards already in circulation. Under new arrangements, law enforcement agencies will be allowed access to information without warrant in vaguely defined: "urgent and exceptional circumstances".


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: The move coincided closely with the passage of the national security law and reflects parallel arrangements in mainland China where users are also required to register new SIM cards using real name identification. The move marks increasing efforts by the CCP to assert its control over Hong Kong through increased surveillance and the intrusion of digital authoritarianism.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Dan McDevitt, manager of website Greatfire.org wrote on Nikkei Asia in response to the new regulations that Beijing had "brought its repressive surveillance tools to Hong Kong", gradually tightening control over the internet and eroding the privacy, forums for open communication and civil society post enactment of the national security law. Anyone found guilty of faking registration details under the ordinance liable to be jailed for 14 years.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: On July 6, 2020, social media companies such as Facebook, Google and Twitter suspended processing requests for user data from Hong Kong Law Enforcement agencies out of fear the data could be used to engage suppression of political dissent and targeting of peaceful participants of the protests, owing to the overly broad interpretations of the law in respect to definitions of the incitement of "subversion, collusion, espionage" and "secession". In response to the enactment of the law, TikTok also stated that it would exit the Hong Kong market in the days following the promulgation of the national security law.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Since 2017, China Immigration Inspection and the Ministry of Public Security has required submission of biometrics before entering the territory of the People's Republic of China. Fingerprints from all 10 fingers and a photograph of a person's face is also required when crossing into mainland China from any immigration control points.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Over the years China has been building a large facial recognition databases for the purposes of targeting and suppressing dissent in addition to enhancing border control through the placement of entry and exit bans on corruption suspects, dissidents and targets of criminal investigations or persons of interest to the ruling CCP.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Residents of Hong Kong have expressed fear of being unable to leave upon entering mainland China and since the anti-extradition bill and pro democracy protests of 2019, certain residents suspected of involvement in political activism and protests have been blacklisted and barred from entry into mainland China.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Since 2018, HKIA (Hong Kong International Airport) has also operated facial recognition and biometric smart-gates to assist passengers to pass through security and clear customs faster. Hong Kong residents are eligible for accelerated entry into Hong Kong by scanning their fingerprints and ID cards when entering Hong Kong. The machine works by cross matching information contained on the card-chip to that of the holder in order to verify the identity of the holder.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: According to reports by South China Morning Post, the city is home to some 50,000 security cameras, with some 20,000 operated by the Housing Authority of Hong Kong. It is not known whether the cameras contain facial recognition capabilities.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In March 2020, pro-Beijing legislators of the Hong Kong Legislative Council suggested that cameras be installed in classrooms in order to monitor the contents of lectures being delivered to students in addition to monitoring the teachers themselves.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In June 2021, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal upheld the constitutional status of a controversial arrangement to allow the application of mainland Chinese law of the West Kowloon Terminus of the cross-border high speed rail way between the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong and the territory of the People's Republic of China (mainland China).


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: The plan would mean that mainland law enforcement officials from MPS or the Ministry of Public Security and the Shenzhen Municipal Public Security Bureau would be able to enforce Chinese law inside the station and potentially arrest any dissidents of the ruling CCP when they cross over into mainland China at the checkpoint.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Critics described the arrangement as infringing upon Hong Kong's autonomy and being in violation of the Hong Kong Basic Law. Since 2007, a similar arrangement has operated at the border where Hong Kong jurisdiction overlaps with areas of the Shenzhen Bay Port on the mainland.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Earlier in 2019, Simon Cheng an investment officer at the British Consulate General in Hong Kong was arrested by public security officers at the station after returning from a business trip in Shenzhen for allegedly soliciting prostitution. Cheng was a vocal activist and supporter of the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: On 15 December 2019, the Hong Kong Immigration department received reports that a man had apparently disappeared while crossing the Hong Kong-Zhuhai Macau Bridge to Macau.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: The bridge, since constructed in 2018 had hosted a Chinese police checkpoint staffed by officers from the mainland China Immigration Inspection agency of the Ministry of Public Security. Upon further investigation it was revealed the man had been detained by Chinese police while on his way to Macau on the Zhuhai-Macau Port Artificial Island (a section of the bridge mid-way leading into an underwater tunnel).


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: Reports by the Hong Kong Free Press revealed that officers from Guangdong Public Security Bureau had set up a checkpoint consisting of X-ray machines and facial recognition scanners ahead of an up-coming visit to Macau by CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, which had picked up the man as he crossed the checkpoint into Macau. Since the bridge was built by the central government, Beijing exercises jurisdictional authority over it, on the basis that the Zhuhai-Macau Port Artificial Island is part of Chinese territory.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: This expansive interpretation of what is considered Chinese territory reflects increasing efforts under CCP general secretary Xi Jinping's administration to increase Chinese soft power while enhancing the extraterritorial reach of its laws through actions such as the stationing of security agents outside of territories where they normally operate.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: The "SkyNet" technology used by the Chinese government to monitor the population through pervasive cameras covers everyone appearing under the camera network, while it does not affect Taiwan. Meanwhile, Taiwanese officials have informed Taiwanese people living in mainland China about the increasing prevalence of surveillance on their activities. This has become a heightened concern since China started offering residence cards and a full national status to people from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau who were living in the mainland. As a result of Beijing's initiative, individuals such as students and workers can apply for a residence permit after residing in mainland China for six months. This policy extends social service and medical benefits to them, who now enjoy those services in the same way as other Chinese citizens. Taiwanese authorities are worried about surveillance on the Taiwanese because of the residence cards issued to them, which provide their identities to the Chinese government and subject them to the same surveillance regime composed of cameras, facial recognition technology, and social credit.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: The PRC institutes a policy of mainland travel permits for "Taiwanese residents" or "Taiwanese compatriots". Since the People's Republic of China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and does not officially recognise Taiwanese passports, all Taiwanese residents are required to apply for a mainland travel permit for Taiwan residents in order to travel to mainland China for the purposes of work, study or otherwise. As part of the application process, personal information such as biometrics, fingerprints, photograph and date of birth are collected.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In 2010, domestic security expenditure exceeded spending on external defense for the first time. By 2016, domestic security spending surpassed external defense by 13%.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In 2017, China's spending on domestic security was estimated to be US$197 billion, excluding spending on security-related urban management and surveillance technology initiatives. In the same year, the central government's total public security spending in Xinjiang reached 57.95 billion RMB, the equivalent of US$9.16 billion, which is ten times the spending of the previous decade.


title: Mass surveillance in China

text: In 2018, China spent the equivalent of US$20 billion purchasing closed-circuit television cameras and other surveillance equipment. This large number of purchases reaches half the size of the global market's, according to an estimate reported in a state newspaper.


title: Yigal Amir

text: Yigal Amir (; born May 31, 1970) is an Israeli right-wing extremist who assassinated former Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin. At the time of the assassination he was a law student at Bar-Ilan University. The assassination took place on November 4, 1995, at the conclusion of a rally in Tel Aviv, Israel. Amir is serving a life sentence for murder plus six years for injuring Rabin's bodyguard, Yoram Rubin, under aggravating circumstances. He was later sentenced to an additional eight years for conspiracy to murder. Amir has never expressed regret for the assassination.


title: Yigal Amir

text: Amir was born in Herzliya to an Israeli Orthodox Yemenite Jewish family, one of eight children. His father Shlomo was a sofer who held a post supervising the kosher slaughtering of chickens and taught Shabbat lessons at a local synagogue. His mother Geula was a kindergarten teacher, and ran a nursery school in the family home's backyard. Amir attended an Independent Education System school in Herzliya, and a high school yeshiva in Tel Aviv. He did his military service in the Israel Defense Forces as a "Hesder" student, combining army service in a religious platoon of the Golani Brigade with religious study at "Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh". Despite being in a religious unit, even his comrades considered him a religious fanatic.


title: Yigal Amir

text: Following his military service, Amir was nominated by the religious-Zionist youth movement Bnei Akiva to teach Judaism in Riga, Latvia, as part of Nativ.


title: Yigal Amir

text: In 1993, Amir began studying at Bar-Ilan University as part of its kollel program, mixing religious and secular studies. Amir studied law and computer science, as well as Jewish law at the Institute for Advanced Torah Studies. Amir was strongly opposed to the Oslo Accords. He participated in protest rallies against the accords on campus, was active in organising weekend bus outings to support Israeli settlers, and helped found an illegal settlement outpost. He was especially active in Hebron, where he led marches through the streets.


title: Yigal Amir

text: During his years as an activist, Amir became friendly with Avishai Raviv, to whom he revealed his plan to kill Rabin. While Raviv posed as a right-wing radical, he was working for Shin Bet, the Israeli internal security service. Some right-wing militants have accused the Shin Bet of having orchestrated the assassination to discredit them.


title: Yigal Amir

text: In 1994, during his university studies, Amir met—and began a (non-sexual) relationship with—Nava Holtzman, a law student from an Orthodox Ashkenazi family. In January 1995, after five months, Holtzman ended the relationship after her parents objected due to Amir's Mizrahi background. She married one of his friends soon afterwards. Amir, who attended the wedding, went into a deep depression.


title: Yigal Amir

text: On November 4, 1995, after a demonstration in Tel Aviv's Kings of Israel Square (now Rabin Square) in support of the Oslo Accords, Amir waited for Rabin in a parking lot adjacent to the square, close to Rabin's official limousine. There, he shot Rabin twice with a Beretta 84F .380 ACP-calibre semi-automatic pistol, and injured Yoram Rubin, a security guard, with a third shot. Amir was immediately seized by Rabin's bodyguards. Rabin was rushed to Ichilov Hospital where he died on an operating table 40 minutes later of blood loss and a punctured lung. According to the court, Yigal Amir's brother Hagai and his friend Dror Adani were his accomplices in the assassination plan.


title: Yigal Amir

text: Upon hearing that Rabin was dead, Amir told the police that he was "satisfied" and was acting on the "orders of God". At his trial, Amir said he did not care if the outcome was death or paralysis as long as Rabin was "out of the way". He expressed no regret for his actions.


title: Yigal Amir

text: The assassination had been preceded by three unsuccessful attempts that same year: at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, at the Nof Yerushalayim Hotel, and at a ceremony inaugurating a highway in Kfar Shmaryahu. These plans fell through moments before implementation.


title: Yigal Amir

text: Amir's trial lasted from January 23 to March 27, 1996. He was initially defended by attorneys Yonatan Ray Goldberg and Mordechai Ofri, and later by Gabi Shachar and Shmuel Flishman. He was prosecuted by Pnina Guy, head of the Tel Aviv District Prosecutor's Office. The three judges who heard the case were presiding judge Edmond Levy and judges Saviona Rotlevy and Oded Mudrik. The judges ordered a mental examination by three district psychiatrists and a clinical psychiatrist, who all agreed that Amir understood the meaning of his actions and was fit to stand trial.


title: Yigal Amir

text: Amir admitted to shooting Rabin and attempted to justify his actions on religious grounds, claiming that shooting Rabin was an act of din rodef. He also claimed he had only intended to paralyze Rabin and not kill him. The court rejected his arguments, and he was found guilty of the murder of Rabin and inflicting injury under aggravating circumstances over the wounding of Yoram Rubin. Amir was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Rabin plus six additional years in prison for injuring Rubin. In the verdict, the three judges wrote:


title: Yigal Amir

text: Every murder is an abominable act, but the act before us is more abominable sevenfold, because not only has the accused not expressed regret or sorrow, but he also seeks to show that he is at peace with himself over the act that he perpetrated. He who so calmly cuts short another's life, only proves the depth of wretchedness to which [his] values have fallen, and thus he does not merit any regard whatsoever, except pity, because he has lost his humanity.


title: Yigal Amir

text: Amir's claim that he was acting in accordance with Jewish law was rejected by the judges: "The attempt to grant religious authority to the murder...is completely inappropriate and amounts to cynical exploitation of Jewish law for goals that are alien to Judaism."


title: Yigal Amir

text: Rabin's assassination was condemned by Bar-Ilan University. Daniel Sperber, a professor of Talmud at the university, said that the assassination "in no way represents the university or the policy of the university".


title: Yigal Amir

text: Amir was later sentenced to an additional five years, and after an appeal on behalf of the state, eight years, for conspiring to commit the assassination with his brother Hagai Amir and Dror Adani. All of the sentences were cumulative. In Israel, a sentence of life imprisonment is usually reduced to a period of 20–30 years by the president, with the possibility of further reduction for good behaviour. However, President Moshe Katsav did not reduce the sentence, saying that there is "no forgiveness, no absolution, and no pardon" for Yigal Amir. Former Prime Ministers Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Olmert have also said that Yigal Amir will never be released from prison.


title: Yigal Amir

text: On December 19, 2001, the Knesset, by majority of 62 members, approved the Yigal Amir Law, which prohibits a parole board from recommending pardon or shortening time in prison for a murderer of a Prime Minister. His legal team and supporters deride the law as being tailor made to punish Amir, being applied retrospectively. Amir began appealing on these grounds in December of 2020 to the High Court of Justice against the law. In the discussion that ensued, it was hoped the law would prevent another political murder.


title: Yigal Amir

text: Amir was held in solitary confinement in Beersheba's Eshel Prison, and moved in 2003 to the Ayalon Prison in Ramla, where a solitary confinement wing was built especially for him. In 2006, he was transferred to Rimonim Prison in Tel Mond, near Netanya. He was also granted the privileges of having no surveillance cameras in his cell, the right to receive visitors in the visiting room, rather than in his cell, and the right to speak with other prisoners. Amir was interviewed by the Israeli press in 2008, but the planned broadcast was controversial, and subsequently cancelled. As punishment for giving the interview, Amir was moved to Ramon Prison, and had a number of privileges withdrawn, including the removal of his TV and DVD player and the refusal of family visits; Amir went on a hunger strike in protest. In February 2010, the Nazareth District Court permitted the "Ynet" internet news service to interview Amir.


title: Yigal Amir

text: In July 2010, after 15 years of solitary confinement, Amir appealed to the Petah Tikva District Court to be permitted to participate in group prayers in accordance with Jewish law. He claimed that the terms of his imprisonment were worse than any other prisoner in the history of the State of Israel, on the grounds that no other prisoner had been in solitary for this amount of time. He said that failure to allow him to pray in synagogue would be a violation of his right to freedom of worship. In August 2010, the court ruled that Amir would be allowed to meet another prisoner for prayer three times a week, and that he would be allowed to study Torah with another prisoner once every two weeks.


title: Yigal Amir

text: In July 2012, it was announced that Amir would no longer be held in solitary confinement. Under his new prison conditions, he would be allowed to watch television and use a phone more frequently. Though he was not be moved to an open cell block, where prisoners are allowed to spend most of the day outside their cells, he was given the right to meet other prisoners during his two hours' exercise in the prison yard.


title: Yigal Amir

text: In 2019, Amir's telephone was confiscated by prison authorities for two months after he used it for political purposes in violation of prison regulations. He had called rapper and right-wing political activist Yoav Eliasi and urged him to fight for his release, a request which Eliasi rejected. In protest, Amir launched a hunger strike and was subsequently penalized with seven days in solitary confinement in a cell with downgraded amenities.


title: Yigal Amir

text: Amir's appeals of both sentences were rejected. Subsequently, a law was passed by the Knesset barring the pardon by the President of Israel for any assassin of a prime minister. Amir has never expressed regret for his actions. , the Amir family and the "Committee for Democracy" campaigned to release Yigal and Hagai Amir. The campaign includes statements for the media, stickers, posters, and short films.


title: Yigal Amir

text: From time to time, radical Israeli right-wing organisations carry out campaigns (via posters or videos) which call for Amir to be released. Such a campaign was held in October 2007 in which the prominent Israeli singer Ariel Zilber also participated. In response to this campaign, the Israeli Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter stated: "This man is in the closest status a person can be to a death sentence", and also added that, "A reduction of his sentence is impossible and illogical, and it will surely accompany him until he would pass away".


title: Yigal Amir

text: His brother Hagai was released from prison on May 4, 2012 after serving 16 years of his sentence. Hagai, who claims to have no regrets and be "proud of what I did", was protested by left-wing individuals, allegedly including many members of the Knesset, such as Shelly Yachimovich, quoted as saying Hagai's public pride in the act was "a monstrous and disgusting act”. Since his release, Hagai has campaigned for the release of his brother. Hagai Amir was re-arrested and sentenced to house arrest in 2015 for a Facebook post wishing death on President Reuven Rivlin.


title: Yigal Amir

text: Amir is married to Larisa Trembovler, who was born in Russia. She has a PhD in philosophy. She has published a novel in Russian ("A Mirror for a Prince"), and is an Orthodox Jew. She met Amir in Latvia, where he was teaching Judaism. After her immigration to Israel, she visited Amir with her then-husband, Benjamin (with whom she has four children), for humanitarian reasons. She expressed ideological support for Amir, and they began to correspond and speak on the phone. She divorced Benjamin in 2003.


title: Yigal Amir

text: Trembovler announced that she was engaged to Amir and wanted to marry him, while he was in jail. In January 2004, after their request was filed, the Israel Prisons Service declared it would not permit the marriage. In April 2004, the matter was brought before the Tel Aviv District Court. At the time, the Prisons Commissioner instructed his legal aides to defend the decision based on security considerations. Amir's lawyers, however, said this claim violated their client's basic rights and would not hold up in court. They noted that several Palestinians serving multiple life terms for crimes such as murder have been permitted to marry in prison. Legal analysts have said the Supreme Court would likely uphold any appeal by Amir's lawyer, unless specific legislation is enacted prohibiting him from marrying. In August 2004, Trembovler and Amir were wed in a surreptitious proxy marriage. Under Jewish law, a prospective husband can grant a form of "power of attorney" to a chosen representative, who can then transfer a wedding ring, or something of similar value, to the prospective wife. In July 2005, their marriage was validated by an Israeli rabbinical court. Trembovler submitted a petition after the Interior Ministry refused to register her and Amir as a married couple. Israel's Justice Ministry defined Amir's marriage as "problematic" because according to a past ruling, a marriage ceremony not conducted in the presence of a rabbi from the Chief Rabbinate is unrecognised.


title: Yigal Amir

text: On February 6, 2006, "Haaretz" reported that Attorney General Menachem Mazuz had ordered the Interior Ministry to register Amir and Trembovler as a married couple. They then filed requests with the Prison Authority and petitions to court to enable them to hold conjugal visits or conceive a child through artificial insemination.


title: Yigal Amir

text: In March 2006, the Israeli Prison Service approved Amir's petition for in vitro fertilisation (IVF). The service was to study how this process would be conducted without Amir leaving the prison. A week later, Amir was caught handing a pre-prepared bag of semen to his wife, and the visit was terminated. After the incident, a disciplinary tribunal barred visits from his wife for 30 days, and phone calls for 14 days. He was fined NIS 100 (then US$21). When the IVF treatments were withheld due to a petition by several members of Knesset, Amir went on hunger strike. After being warned that hunger strikes are in violation of prison regulations, some of his privileges were cancelled.


title: Yigal Amir

text: Up until October 20, 2006, the Shin Bet security service had opposed unsupervised visits. Four days later, Amir was allowed a 10-hour-long conjugal visit. Five months later, it was reported that Trembovler was pregnant. On October 28, 2007, she gave birth to a son, who was named Yinon Eliya Shalom. The brit milah was held in prison on November 4, 2007, the 12th anniversary of Rabin's assassination.


title: Yigal Amir

text: In 2020, Amir requested a furlough from prison to attend his son's bar mitzvah, which the Israel Prison Service denied. Amir appealed the decision to the Beersheba District Court, which upheld the refusal.


title: Yigal Amir

text: On July 8, 2015, a documentary on Yigal Amir, "Beyond the Fear", was premiered in Jerusalem. The film explored the thorny drama of the Moscow-born intellectual Larisa Trembovler, who married assassin Yigal Amir after he was sentenced to life in prison and, following a court battle for a conjugal visit, gave birth to their son in 2007. The late filmmaker Herz Frank, who died in 2013, spent about 10 years following Trembovler, receiving unprecedented access to her and their son, Yinon. Rabin's granddaughter called the film a "cynical use of the freedom of expression with intent to harm it".


title: Yigal Amir

text: The 2019 film "Incitement" consists of a portrayal of the factors that led Amir to commit the assassination. Debuting at Sundance, the movie went on to win the 2019 Ophir Award.


title: Banquo

text: Lord Banquo , the Thane of Lochaber, is a semi-historical character in William Shakespeare's 1606 play "Macbeth". In the play, he is at first an ally of Macbeth (both are generals in the King's army) and they meet the Three Witches together. After prophesying that Macbeth will become king, the witches tell Banquo that he will not be king himself, but that his descendants will be. Later, Macbeth in his lust for power sees Banquo as a threat and has him murdered by three hired assassins; Banquo's son, Fleance, escapes. Banquo's ghost returns in a later scene, causing Macbeth to react with alarm in public during a feast.


title: Banquo

text: Shakespeare borrowed the character Banquo from "Holinshed's Chronicles", a history of Britain published by Raphael Holinshed in 1587. In "Chronicles" Banquo is an accomplice to Macbeth in the murder of the king, rather than a loyal subject of the king who is seen as an enemy by Macbeth. Shakespeare may have changed this aspect of his character to please King James, who was thought at the time to be a descendant of the real Banquo. Critics often interpret Banquo's role in the play as being a foil to Macbeth, resisting evil whereas Macbeth embraces it. Sometimes, however, his motives are unclear, and some critics question his purity. He does nothing to accuse Macbeth of murdering the king, even though he has reason to believe Macbeth is responsible.


title: Banquo

text: Shakespeare often used Raphael Holinshed's "Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland", commonly known as "Holinshed's Chronicles", as a source for his plays, and in "Macbeth", he borrows from several of the tales in that work. Holinshed portrays Banquo as an historical figure, who is an accomplice in the murder by Mac Bethad mac Findlaích (Macbeth) of Donnchad mac Crínáin (King Duncan) and plays an important part in ensuring that Macbeth, not Máel Coluim mac Donnchada (Malcolm), takes the throne in the coup that follows. Holinshed in turn used an earlier work, the "Scotorum Historiae" (1526–7) by Hector Boece, as his source. Boece's work is the first known record of Banquo and his son Fleance; and scholars such as David Bevington generally consider them fictional characters invented by Boece. In Shakespeare's day, however, they were considered historical figures of great repute, and the king, James I, based his claim to the throne in part on a descent from Banquo.


title: Banquo

text: Within the literature there exists various claims surrounding Thane Banquo's ancestry. According to the 17th century historian Frederic van Bossen, Thane Banquo (which he wrote as Banqwho and sometimes as Banchou) was the son of Dunclina, the daughter of Albanach ap Crinan, the thane of the Isles, and her husband Kenneth. Kenneth was the son of Fferqwhart, who was the son of son of Murdoch the Thane of "Lochabar", the son of Prince Dorus, who was the son of a King named Erlus, whose kingdom was not identified.According to Frederic van Bossen, Banquo married his 4th cousin Mauldvina the daughter of Thalus the Thane of Atholl, and together they were the parents of Fleance, a daughter called Castisa who married Frederic the Lord of Cromartie, and a number of other sons who were murdered by King Macbeth.


title: Banquo

text: It is known that the House of Stuart descends from Walter fitz Alan, Steward of Scotland, and in some studies he is believed to have been the grandson of Fleance and Gruffydd ap Llywelyn's daughter, Nesta ferch Gruffydd. However, in Frederic van Bossen's handwritten notes, which were created from numerous resources he collected in his travels through Europe, Fleance's wife is identified as Nesta's sister, Marjoretta the daughter of "griffin ap Livlein". In reality, Walter fitz Alan was the son of Alan fitz Flaad, a Breton knight.