“We are still in the preparation phase, but we will not rule out the possibility [of using facial recognition] as technological advancements can definitely help us be more effective in law enforcement and other areas,” he said.

“Citizens do not have to worry. Police will make use of these technologies to combat crimes, but we will do so lawfully.”

Siu added that authorities were still in the early stages of identifying the circumstances where technology would be used, such as tracking suspects, and did not rule out using the information for cases involving national security.

He said the government had not decided how long surveillance footage would be stored and that the city would look at operational procedures used in other jurisdictions.

Siu argued that the installation of only 2,000 CCTV cameras was not enough for a densely populated city such as Hong Kong.

He compared the city with Britain, which started installing surveillance cameras in the 1990s and now has more than 7.3 million of them around the country, and Singapore, which has 90,000.

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“This is only the first phase,” Siu said. “We believe, in the future, there will be more than 2,000 cameras.

“We find that there is definitely a need to use this for increasing the level of safety and combating crimes.

“The use of surveillance cameras has been proven to be highly effective in maintaining security in other countries.”

He promised that the new cameras would only cover public areas and that the government would consult the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data about the protection of information.

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Lawmaker Doreen Kong Yuk-foon said the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in law enforcement was only a matter of time.

“Facial recognition technology is used in many countries so we should not rule it out completely, and the use of such an innovation is unavoidable if we are talking about surveillance cameras,” she said.

“Most importantly, the government needs clear guidelines on the purpose, usage and storage duration of the data collected, while improving its data security systems. The risk in Hong Kong is that there is no legislation on the use of these AI technologies.”

She added that other countries had started to draft laws governing the use of AI and Hong Kong should follow suit quickly.

“This can reassure the public about its usage and also tell innovators what is allowed and what is not, so they have guidance on how they should develop this technology.”

Francis Fong Po-kiu, honorary president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, said authorities should encrypt all footage collected to prevent unauthorised access and minimise the risk of data leakage by hacking.

A committee should periodically review whether the footage be kept or deleted, Fong said, adding that most countries stored surveillance data for between 30 days and three months unless there were criminal investigations or court orders.

He suggested the government follow the privacy watchdog’s guidelines on CCTV and drone usage, which states that personal information collected by the system should be deleted as soon as practicable when the purpose of the surveillance is completed.

Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk Wing-hing first revealed the government’s plan to install 2,000 CCTV cameras in densely populated parts of the city and high-crime areas last month.

The domestic legislation would work alongside the 2020 Beijing-imposed national security law designed to penalise acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.