On Thursday, soon after Reuters reported the complaints, one camera was removed and the other two were no longer facing outside the embassy.
It was not immediately clear whether the move was linked to the complaints or any intervention by Portuguese authorities.
The embassy did not reply to requests for comment. The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The CNPD did not immediately reply to a request for comment after the cameras were removed or repositioned.
Before the change, the cameras had been installed on metal poles that extended over the embassy walls.
The resident who Reuters spoke to in December, who lives across the road from the embassy’s consular section, described the situation as a “blatant violation of privacy”.
China has one of the world’s most sophisticated surveillance systems, and some Chinese embassies have faced criticism for enforcing excessive monitoring and protective measures abroad.
A surveillance camera is seen pointed towards the exterior of the Chinese embassy in Lisbon, Portugal in December. Photo: Reuters
The brand of the cameras used at the consular premises was Hikvision, a partly state-owned Chinese firm.
The British government told its departments in November to stop installing Hikvision or other Chinese-linked surveillance cameras at sensitive buildings, citing security risks.
“The installation of surveillance cameras obeys legally established rules, which any entity must, naturally, scrupulously comply with,” the Portuguese foreign ministry said.
