The local government in Anhui province has become the latest region in China to install video cameras in taxis. It claims the initiative is to improve passengers’ safety. Along with a mushrooming of CCTV cameras on China’s streets and recent media reports that many taxis in the capital, Beijing, record conversations in the cab, it seems the spread of surveillance devices in China is unstoppable. In a country where privacy laws are far from robust - is this really about making the public more secure – or China’s version of a nationwide Big Brother. And how do Chinese people feel about being under constant watch. Our reporter Sheila Wang went out on the streets of Beijing to find out.
With corruption cropping up in many areas of society as we've just heard, we asked ordinary Chinese citizens for their views on the topic. Here's what they had to say in today's edition of Straight from the Street.