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Monday, 24 March 2008 12:38

China blasted as 'irresponsible' a US State Department warning to American citizens not to expect much privacy during the Beijing Olympics, and argued its surveillance was nothing out of the ordinary.

The Bureau of Consular Affairs late last week published an 'Olympic 2008 Fact Sheet' urging US citizens to have 'no reasonable expectation of privacy in public or private locations.'

'All hotel rooms and offices are considered to be subject to on-site or remote technical monitoring at all times,' the fact sheet said.

'Hotel rooms, residences and offices may be accessed at any time without the occupant's consent or knowledge.'

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang responded by saying China was in accordance with international standards.

'In public places, hotels and office buildings in China, there are no special security arrangements exceeding what is normal internationally,' he said in a statement posted on the ministry's website late Sunday.

'Privacy is protected by law in China, and foreign visitors don't need to worry. What the Bureau of Consular Affairs said in this respect in its fact sheet is irresponsible.'

Anecdotal evidence would seem to support the US claim of at least occasional Chinese surveillance of foreigners.

However, privacy is a concept appreciated by a growing number of ordinary Chinese.

Earlier this year, the Shanghai metro was forced to apologise after a couple complained that a security camera video of them kissing and embracing had been put on the Internet and seen by thousands.

Beijing has also launched a crackdown on ticket scalping ahead of the Olympics, threatening to detain serious offenders for up to four years' 're-education through labor,' local media reported on Monday.

Most Chinese entertainment events attract a throng of touts, known locally as 'yellow bulls,' hoping to resell tickets, and rampant scalping of train seats ahead of major festivals has become a regular complaint among homeward-bound travellers.