The new digital ID card, which uses smart ID technology, will be carried by 960 million Chinese citizens. The embedded microchip in the plastic card stores an individual's personal information, which can be read and checked against databases kept by China's security authorities.
This massive transformation has proceeded largely under a veil of secrecy, with little public debate. China's government-run media has also remained silent on the issue, said the report.
Chinese officials say the new smart ID cards will stamp out counterfeit paper IDs, which are used in white-collar crime.
According to a Chinese industry executive, trial runs for the smart ID card will begin in 2004, and most Chinese citizens can expect to receive the new cards by 2005. As many as 800 million of the cards could be in use by 2006, according to the Dow Jones report.
Malaysia launched a smart ID card, MyKad, in April 2001. MyKad is government-issued all-in-one smartcard that performs a wide range of functions such as data processing, storage and file management. It stores citizen data, such as identity card numbers, passport information, driving licences and health information, in a single embedded 64K microchip. The card also promises secure access to applications such as automated teller machines (ATM) and government-related online services.
Elsewhere, countries such as the US, UK, and the Philippines are reportedly mulling the adoption of a national ID system in the wake of terrorism threats after the 11 September, 2001, attacks. Thailand will launch its smart national ID card later this year.
However, such plans have been met with fierce resistance from pro-privacy bodies, which believe identity cards infringe human rights and individual privacy.
"In recent years, attempts to create national ID cards in the US, Korea and Taiwan have all failed because of public opposition," the group said on its Web site.
Talkback
Who is supplying the smart cards and readers to the Chinese Gov't. ?
ERG Group of Perth Australia is the tech company which implemented the Malaysian system referred to, also "teaming" with gigantic Northrop Grumman in USA and recently Northrops sub-contracting to ERG to provide backend operations to Washington DC fare collection system. The reason Northrops are doing so, and are intending to tender with ERG for similar system in New York/New Jersey, is that US Govt plans to implement smart card ID's for employees and users of ALL Govt transport in USA, as well as for all Federal Govt employees. (Search for "smart card" or "interoperability" etc on yahoo.com "News" for more on US Govt plans). ERG trades on Australian Stock Exchange, has recently restructured and closed Friday at $A. 87 cents. Anonymous
ERG Group of Perth Australia is the tech company which implemented the Malaysian system referred to, also "teaming" with gigantic Northrop Grumman in USA and recently Northrops sub-contracting to ERG to provide backend operations to Washington DC fare collection system. The reason Northrops are doing so, and are intending to tender with ERG for similar system in New York/New Jersey, is that US Govt plans to implement smart card ID's for employees and users of ALL Govt transport in USA, as well as for all Federal Govt employees. (Search for "smart card" or "interoperability" etc on yahoo.com "News" for more on US Govt plans). ERG trades on Australian Stock Exchange, has recently restructured and closed Friday at $A. 87 cents. Anonymous
Part II (sorry I sent first comment twice). ERG Group has implemented smart card fare collection systems in Hong Kong, Singapore, Rome, San Francisco, Bordeaux France, and is the only smart card company in the World with the proven backend operating system to implement a smart card ID across multiple cities, with multiple functions on one card, and with "interoperability" to allow function with other companies' tech, and across databases, hence the reason Washington DC has chosen ERG for Washington DC where Cubic Systems' tech will be "overlaid" with ERG's "overarching" technology. That is, ERG is running multiple US cities from the one mainframe in the US. Anonymous
Further to earlier 2 posts (and one duplicate) following are links to articles re US Govt ID plans, 2 of which name Northrop Grumman as contenders for the contracts. In the case of US-VISIT, if you read linked articles as well, you can get more info and I personally have decided US-VISIT will "piggyback" (US term used in connection with DHS employees ID superimposed on TWIC) onto the TWIC, and I am certain only ERG Group of Australia has the technology to implement these cards, which will clearly be multiple use and across a multitude of databases etc. Even if ERG is not selected as main tech for China, they will be called upon to later superimpose their tech as in Washington DC to allow more complex system implementation at a later date.
Links referred to:
http://www.retail-merchandiser.com/retailmerchandiser/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1939438
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/0714/news-visit-07-14-03.asp
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/0714/cov-shell2-07-14-03.asp
Anonymous
Take a look at a small U.S. company named Patriot Scientific Corporation - They trade under the symbol PTSC - They have been dealing with the Chinese regarding Smart Card chip technology......www.ptsc.com
Possibly, look at a co (symbol) ptsc. Not sure, but they signed a letter of intent with Chinsa last year. D