How long will it take China to find someone who is on a wanted list?

[Image source](Getty images)

Recently a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) correspondent John Sudworth was apprehended in China by the authorities within 7 minutes from the time he entered into the country.

Though, this was not a case of correspondent (media reporter) beign forcefully arrested and deported from China, it was a staged act intended to demonstrate/show to the world how efffective and powerful surveillance programme of Chinese Government is.

To achieve this feat China has 170 million units (sets) of CCTV Cameras were installed across the country. This is the highest number of CCTV cameras installed in only one country by the government all over the world and it the number is expected to to grow 3 times (x3) within the next 3 years
Over 400 Million sets of these cameras is expected to be installed by the government before the end of 2020.

China is said to have embarked on aggressive monitoring in order to enhance security as well as aid (help) the police and other law enforcement personnels discharge their duty efficiently and effectively. Though this claim has been refuted by opponents of the CCTV programme. In their argument they said that

Beyond the use of this Cameras for security purposes, they are also used for aggressive intelligence gathering as well as it's abuse by some law enforcement personnels in charge of it.

This act is said to have endangered or violated the privacy of the citizens most especially the decidents.

HOW THE SURVEILLANCE WORK:

The 170 million CCTV cameras that were installed across China collect data for the mass surveillance.
A large number of the cameras are fitted with Artificial Intelligence (AI) Software and Facial Recognition Software .
The Software works by searching through large chunk of of video footage obtained so as to extract various information ranging from vehicle registration plate numbers (license numbers) to ages, faces etc.
This information is then used to identify individuas(s) or registered owners of vehicle.
It was through this very process that BBC correspondent John Sudworth was captured by the Authority.

Various companies has been contacted by Government of China.
This includes unicorn Face+++.