I would really like to hear from the loyal Hikvision & Dahua dealers how they can support a manufacturer that derives most of its money from the twisted, control freak Chinese regime.

Since Hikua operations in America are widely considered to be unprofitable undertakings, any dealer might consider it their patriotic duty to enhance their losses ;)

I can see how the security flaws could be something for people to worry about when choosing a manufacturer, but doubt it matters who else they sell to. 

I'm sure you purchase many products from companies that also sell to another company/government that commit violations worse than human rights.

This type of press might even be positive in some peoples eyes. Right or wrong, if the Chinese government, or any other country's government  is using it for their own security in this magnitude, then it must be good enough for an eight camera system. 

And these article might change a few average consumer's perception, but unfortunately the only thing that will ultimately change their mind is a product with similar qualities and cheaper price. 

we're only another Patriot Act away from having this in some areas of our own country

Respectfully but strongly disagree. America's civil liberties and freedoms are far more robust than China. While we should protect them and beware of risks, there should be no conflating with how China operates with the US.

For example:

• The US President cannot fire Supreme Court Justices or remove Congressman. By contrast, Xi Jinping and the CCP can change their senior officials as they please. Our system of checks and balances limits abuses of power.
• The US has freedom of press, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc. This is backed up by an independent judiciary. Not only does China not have this, China routinely disappears, detains and detains people for 'picking quarrels' or criticizing the government even on social media. Our system and well-protected freedoms allows people to criticize and counter government officials and actions.
• In the US, our freedoms are so great, people can routinely mock, attack and even threaten the President. Not only are those people not arrested, other Americans cheer them on. By contrast, the China Communist Party cracked down on people who posted images that compared Xi Jinping to the Winnie the Pooh.
• Look at what China is doing with their social credit system. If China finds you are a 'troublemaker' (e.g. criticizing the Chinese government or being friends with such people), you "will have slower internet speeds; restricted access to restaurants and the removal of the right to travel". There is nothing anything close to such Big Brother control in the US.

The main difference is the Chinese government is upfront and proud of their surveillance and privacy invasion. Not hidden within thousands of pages of legal docs.

And Chinese citizens either don't mind this or definitely scare easy. You would think 1 billion citizens against 3 million military would be easy win during a revolt.

But if I had guess, the US isn't far behind. We just have a much larger area to cover. 

Governments are counting on our fear, so it's best not to give in to it.

2nd Amendment. Which should be 1st Amendment, because without it you could lose the other 9.

" but at the end of the day one of these companies is part of the government regime and the other is a for profit business that is separate from the said regime"

to be honest i find this stand a little naive. If you see the Chinese government as an evil oppressive regime then you should not buy anything that originates from China (including western OEMed products), buy Korean, Taiwanese or Japanese, there are enough options out there.

As long as it it in China, the fact the Dahua is a "for profit" business does not mean it is disconnected from the Chinese government or that the Chinese government doesn't have any way of controlling it. Dahua depends on banks for credit lines, in China these banks are controlled by the government, Dahua depends on the government for numerous government contracts in their domestic market and i can think of a few more levers the government can use to influence the company.

As was mentioned here before, China is a one-party state with a formidable security apparatus, do you think that if the Chinese equivalent of "Agent Smith" pays a visit to Dahua HQ they will not fall in suit to do what the government wants? 

I personally do not see the Chinese manufacturers as part of a plot to take over the world, in the 90s similar views were voiced against the Japanese taking over the world economy, i believe it is a question of time before some other country rises to prominence. Maybe in 10 years we will be discussing the rise of Indian manufacturers and how they undercut the Chinese prices.

i'm just sayin... 

As someone who has worked with those Los Angeles cameras on poles and corners, they are for traffic and only the corner PTZ’s are viewed, not recorded and usually only if there is an issue reported with the intersection.

The cameras on the top of poles are used with analytics to replace the in ground traffic loops. 

CalTrans doesn’t record the freeway cameras. 

Our big brother isn’t that big.  Yet. 

Don't fool yourself into thinking western companies have an altruistic sense that prevents them from selling to "any regime that wants to buy it," most western companies will peddle to any regime that wants to buy it as well, the all mighty dollar is what dictates the decisions made in those boardrooms.  The main reason they might not sell to them is their own respective governments prevent it (with threat of fines, making selling a less profitable venture) - and many times that doesn't even stop them.  Read the Bloomberg series from a couple years ago "Wired for Repression."  It discusses some of those very countries you list buying surveillance technology from Western companies.