An electronic display screen exposing the photo, name, and partial ID information of a traffic offender. [Photo by Xia Lianghong]

Some have found that two electronic display screens have been equipped at the pedestrian street-crossing tunnel access between the Zhongshan Expo Center at Bo'ai Road and the south gate of Zimaling Park. These new screens expose the photo, name, and partial ID information of each traffic offender.

The face recognition and capture system has also undergone a trial run at the pedestrian crossing between the Lihe Plaza and Zhongshan Drivers' Association in East District.

"Many cities in China have started using the facial recognition system to capture pedestrians running a red light and other traffic offenses involving non-motor vehicles," said a staff representative of the Municipal Traffic Police Detachment. This is the first time that face recognition equipment has been used in Zhongshan.

Statistics indicate that the equipment captured barrier-free passage passing offenses committed by 2,172 unlicensed electric motorcycles and 69 licensed motorcycles at the tunnel portal in front of the south gate of Zimaling Park during its initial use on April 23.

The staff said that licensed motorcycles will be penalized starting on May 6 and going forward. In contrast, law-breaking, non-motor vehicles and pedestrians will merely be exposed and warned but not penalized.

Some citizens have challenged whether this act of law enforcement constitutes an infringement against traffic offenders' rights. In response to these concerns, some lawyers believe that this level of exposure does not constitute any infringement against the law.