Imperial don co-founded company implicated in Chinese state surveillance

According to Corerain’s website, they were “the official partner of Imperial College London” as of March 2017. Corerain Technologies is a China-based artificial intelligence firm and has been implicated in facilitating the tracking and profiling of the public by the Chinese government.

Corerain developed an “electronic sentry”, meant to match faces and government ID, confirm green health codes, and check live body temperature

Wayne Luk, a professor at Imperial College London, is, according to Crunchbase.com, CSO (Chief Scientific Officer) and co-founder of Corerain. Professor Luk said on Wednesday that in his dealings with Corerain, no activity involved tracking and profiling people. Information regarding Professor Luk’s involvement with the company was displayed on the Corerain website until recently, however was removed at the time that Felix raised the partnership with the College.

In March 2017, Imperial College London became an official partner of Corerain (according to Corerain). Felix understands that the partnership has since ended, though it is unclear when this happened. All mention of the partnership was removed from the website as of last Monday.

The company states that it markets surveillance-based solutions to detect changes such as reading meter gauges, helmet-wearing, and smoking at construction sites. On the Chinese-language version of the website, Corerain is listed as “Kunyun Technology”. Corerain Executive President and Imperial Research Associate Dr Niu Xinyu is listed as Kunyun CEO.

When approached for comment, Professor Luk said that “he has not conducted any activities that involve tracking and profiling of the public. He has, on a part-time basis, advised many companies including Corerain but had only provided occasional advice to Corerain in the last few years.”

In November 2016 Corerain boasted on its website that a “smart remote sensing AI solution was applied in Corerain’s strategic partner China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation”, indicating that the company has worked closely with players in the Chinese space program.

In February 2018, Corerain “signed a strategic partnership in smart security with Shanghai Pudong New Area urban operation comprehensive management center” (PnaC). In February 2021, the PnaC and local district government launched AI-powered surveillance to detect problems and potential hazards at Shanghai’s Nanjing Building. For example, a visitor opening a window to take a picture may be flagged, due to the risk of the phone falling out the window.

In June 2021, the Chinese government passed a policy to create a “Modern Socialism Pilot Zone” within Pudong with its own legislative powers, with the stated aim of making the region a high- tech hub, with a focus on AI.

Chinese state surveillance has attracted international backlash due to its suspected use in persecution of the Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang province. More recently, internal unrest has resulted from China’s far-reaching zero-Covid policy, which enforces strict lockdowns over vast swathes of the Chinese population in response to suspected and detected Covid cases.

To travel between cities, citizens must have a “green” health code, which indicates that they are up to date on vaccinations, have had negative PCR test results, and have not been in contact with infectious patients. Manual checking of these codes has led to severe delays. Electronic checking by machines has been developed and implemented in some public areas. Corerain developed an “electronic sentry”, meant to match faces and government ID, confirm green health codes, and check live body temperature. The product was only listed in Mandarin on the site, and this page has also been removed as of last Monday. The webpage stated: (translated) “This information is sent to the Chinese government”.

If a sentry detects a person with a yellow or red health code, checkpoint staff and a “community Trinity working group [will] immediately go to the scene to deal with it”.

Dr Niu stated in an interview that the electronic sentinel “will add more functions related to the normalization of epidemic prevention, and use technology to help epidemic prevention while making life as convenient as possible for residents”. The sentry has completed pilot tests in some residential buildings and public spaces, and the scope of use will be gradually expanded.

Corerain signed a strategic cooperation agreement with China Telecom in November 2021.

In July 2022, Chinese state media reported that certain bank accounts had been frozen as part of the national strategy to crack down on criminal gangs. However, thousands of customers from rural areas found they were unable to withdraw cash from, or use, their accounts. Groups of angry customers attempted to travel to protest at the central bank headquarters in the Henan province, but some found that their health codes turned red as they arrived, or while they were at a protest. Up to 200 depositors reported this issue while they made plans to attend the protest. Some depositors said they were able to travel to Zhengzhou, Henan, by public transport, but their codes turned red at the city gates. These circumstances have led citizens to claim that dissent is being silenced through the use of electronic sentries and health codes.

An Imperial College London spokesperson said: “All partnerships and collaborations at Imperial undergo thorough scrutiny and are regularly reviewed, working closely and regularly with the appropriate Government departments.”

Felix contacted Corerain to ask why all mention of their co- founder was removed from the website, but has not yet received a reply.