A Chinese law professor, annoyed by advertising messages through mobile phone, called for public attention on privacy protection in Beijing on Friday.

On Christmas season, besides blessings from relatives and friends, mobile phone users in China received anonymous short messages for promoting commodities, a phenomenon that underlined rampant privacy infringement in the country.

Lu Jianping, law professor of People's University of China, said he just received an annoying short message selling second-hand sedans when attending a conference of human rights protection here on Christmas Eve.

"Many people fail to know that human rights protection includes protecting personal information," he said. "Selling client's personal data, including people's phone numbers, constitute serious infringement of privacy."

Lu said we left our personal data when filling numerous applications every day and some data holders--usually clinics, communications and the Internet operators--sold this personal information to companies which preferred to promote their products by anonymous short messages.

Lu, who once studied in French universities, said illegal selling and buying personal information in France would constitute a felony and convicts would sometimes be fined millions of francs.

He said the law protecting personal data are sophisticated in countries where communication means are well developed. "But as the Chinese people generally know very little about privacy protection, law on this concern is missing in the country."

Nevertheless, with the rapid development of communication technology, China has witnessed a host of privacy infringement cases in recent years.

On the rise is the number of reports concerning young mothers, soon after having a baby, being harassed by baby-care products or people who just buy an apartment being annoyed by furniture companies.

"Meanwhile, a number of camera phones are shooting sneaky photos and underground detective firms are collecting personal data via hi-tech gadgets," said Liu Zuoxiang, law professor of People's University of China, who was also attending the ongoing conference.

He urged the public to be alert to privacy infringement, though the concept of privacy is relatively new in China.

"So far we can only determine the crimes on violating business secrets, but no crimes on violation of personal secrets according to the existing laws," said Lu, calling the legislature to pay more attention to writing laws to protect privacy.

(Xinhua News Agency December 27, 2004)