Amorous couples in Beijing told to beware of surveillance

Beijing couples intent on stealing a kiss in public are being warned they could be caught on closed-circuit television — and suspected of committing a crime, a state news agency has reported.

Xinhua News Agency said "intimate acts of lovers may be initially categorized as 'kidnapping' or 'robbery' by the computers, which are programmed to be sensitive to violations of safe distances."

But police officers monitoring the cameras will decide if the situation really is dangerous.

But there will be some warning for amorous couples, Xinhua said. Signs will go up next month in areas covered by the cameras, saying in Chinese and English "you are entering a camera-monitored zone."

Public displays of affection, and more, are common for young urban Chinese couples, who often have nowhere else to go because they share small apartments with their parents.