Why Hong Kongers Are Toppling Lampposts

The most successful surveillance devices are unobtrusive by nature, which means spotting them is difficult and engaging with them directly can be surreal. Cameras that look like cellphone chargers are cheap and difficult to spot. Law-enforcement agencies mount gunshot-detecting microphones in streetlights and perch license-plate readers on traffic lights. The DEA hides cameras in traffic cones. Marketers track where you get your chicken sandwiches.

In Hong Kong, anxieties about the surveillance-tech arms race has fueled against a bill—proposed, then , but still —that would give officials the authority to extradite suspects to countries without existing extradition agreements with the city. This includes mainland China, a terrifying prospect Hong Kongers say undermines their autonomy and gives China the ability to silence those critical of its government.