Parallel traders, beware: new facial recognition system installed at Hong Kong-Shenzhen border

Everyone who passes through the checkpoint is checked against a database of faces and travel information, and if there is a suspicion they are a parallel trader the system will send an alert to the customs officials, the statement said. It did not say what would happen in the event of there being such a match.

Chinese authorities have introduced a new facial recognition system at two border checkpoints between Hong Kong and Shenzhen in a bid to crack down on “parallel traders”, a term used for people who buy tax-free goods in the former British colony and then resell them in the mainland.

According to a message posted by the General Administration of Customs on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like service, the new system in place at the Shenzhen Bay and Lo Wu checkpoints will also speed up the processing time for people travelling between the two cities.