"Did you say travel with peace of mind?" When you step into a restaurant or a designated place, the clerk will always remind you that you must scan "Travel with peace of mind" to enter. However, after entering this scene at midnight on Wednesday (14th), will be history.
Launched in November 2020, the app has been updated over 40 versions so far.
When it was first launched, the government stated that it would not force citizens to use it, but the relevant statement was overturned a year later. The then chief executive, Carrie Lam, explained that it was because of the rapid development of the epidemic.
However, as Hong Kong gradually returns to normal, traveling with peace of mind cannot escape the fate of being eliminated.
The Director of the Medical and Health Bureau, Lu Chongmao, announced today (13th) that starting from Wednesday, there will be no need for scanning to travel with peace of mind, which also means that tonight is the last night to use the whereabouts recording program that has been with Hong Kong people for two years.
▼On December 13th, the government announced the cancellation of sweeping and traveling with peace of mind▼
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Launched on November 11, 2020, the Hong Kong government stated at the time that it would not collect personal travel records
The new crown pneumonia epidemic has hit Hong Kong for three years. In the early stage of the epidemic, it was very difficult for the Department of Health to track the places visited by the confirmed cases. Therefore, the Hong Kong government launched the Safe Travel app on November 11, 2020, and it will start from November 16. Available for download by the public.
However, when it was first launched, it received a lot of controversy. Many people were worried that the program would monitor citizens, and also questioned the excessive permissions requested, including "reading USB content" and "viewing Wi-Fi connections".
On the first day of the launch of "Safe Travel", the then Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Xue Yongheng, demonstrated how to use Safe Travel.
(File photo/photo by Liao Yanxiong)
The Hong Kong government emphasized at the time that the app would not collect personal travel records, and several senior officials told citizens not to worry about privacy issues.
The travel record will only be stored in the user's mobile phone without any central record system, and will be automatically deleted after 31 days, which also indicates that it has passed the security risk assessment of an independent third party and ensured compliance with the "Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance" Regulation.
The reporter of "Hong Kong 01" also discovered later that the official website of "Travel Safely" has a provision stating that the travel records uploaded by confirmed patients to the Department of Health will be kept for at least 7 years.
2021.2 Change to improve mandatory scanning in restaurants
In the early days of Safe Travel, the government stated that it would not force citizens to use Safe Travel.
However, starting in February last year, the government announced that citizens entering all government venues must use the "Safe Travel" app on their mobile phones to scan the two-dimensional code (QR code) on the spot to register or "write paper" to register their name, contact number and Visit date and time to enter.
On the 18th of the same month, the government extended the regulations to designated places such as restaurants, and those who fail to comply will be fined and suspended.
The government pointed out that the rapid development of the epidemic prohibits the use of "writing paper" as a substitute for safe travel
Until November 1 last year, the government tightened the regulations again, and citizens were no longer allowed to use "paper writing" to register their names and contact numbers instead of traveling with peace of mind. Citizens were required to use "safety" on their mobile phones when entering government buildings or offices. Travel" mobile application scans the QR code (QR code) on the spot to register, and it will be extended to all listed premises starting from December 9.
When the then Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, was asked why she overturned her promise a year ago not to force citizens to travel safely, she explained that it was because of the rapid development of the epidemic and the government had to adjust its anti-epidemic strategy according to the changes in the current epidemic.
▼On December 13, the government announced the abolition of the Scan Safe Travel and Yellow Code system▼
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2022.2 Add vaccination records to enter shopping malls, supermarkets and markets to scan for peace of mind
Up to this year, in response to the government’s extension of the vaccination pass in February, version 3.0.2 of the "Travel Safely" mobile application was launched, adding functions (such as color) to display vaccination records. If there is no vaccination record, a red mark will appear, and if there is a vaccine Vaccination records are marked in blue.
In addition, the government also announced in the same month that citizens must also use "Travel Safely" when entering listed places such as shopping malls, supermarkets and markets.
Although it has been two years since the launch of "Safe Travel", there are still privacy concerns about the "Safe Travel" app from time to time.
In May of this year, the Fax Agency revealed that the Android version of the "Safe Travel" mobile app has a built-in face recognition module, which can identify facial features and determine the location during the period.
▼On December 13th, the government announced the cancellation of sweeping and traveling with peace of mind▼
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Although the Hong Kong government has always stated that "travel with peace of mind" can be used for tracking purposes, its effectiveness has always been in doubt. Until recent months, some experts questioned the effectiveness of "travel with peace of mind".
Xu Lejian, director of the Center for Health Protection, responded in September this year that "Safe Travel" still has functions, especially during large-scale outbreaks, and can be used to track cases, but he did not provide the numbers for the past two months.
However, today, two months later, with the announcement by the Director of the Medical and Health Bureau, Lu Chongmao, that there is no need to scan "Travel with Peace of Mind", the sight of citizens queuing up to scan for travel with peace of mind is believed to be gone. It has been two years with Hong Kong people. Safe travel has officially become history.
Although criticized by some citizens, "Travel with Peace of Mind" recently won the "Best Public Health Partner Award 2022" at the Huawei Asia Pacific Developer Conference.
Lam Wai Kiu, Government Chief Information Officer, said at the time that this award not only recognizes the efforts of the OGCIO, but also confirms that Hong Kong's IT development has a leading position in the Asia-Pacific region.
Travel with peace of mind is cancelled｜Yellow codes will be canceled simultaneously from tomorrow. Zeng Qiyin believes that the epidemic will not worsen rapidly. Travel with peace of mind can be canceled｜Show the vaccine pass and needle card 5 methods. One article to see if there is a trick, you can cancel without downloading and travel with peace of mind｜Jielong Huang described historic as 0 +0 Leave a small amount of QR codes to scan the vaccines to pass the Hong Kong government and then relax the epidemic prevention: reduce the mandatory building inspections, students who are withdrawn to the mainland and Macao for testing are still required to quickly test the five measures Hong Kong relaxes, including canceling the scans to travel safely Lu Chongmao: Your words are too late for someone It's too early to clear the customs｜Tomorrow the nucleic acid testing requirements for mainland ports will be revoked Lu Chongmao: Looking forward to customs clearance
