Search China Travel News:

China is planning to issue new intelligent ID cards for its 1.3 billion people, and some citizens will be issued computer readable cards as early as March.

According to officials with the Ministry of Public Security, the new ID card will hopefully prevent the rampant forging of current ID cards.

The new card contains a module that integrates a special chip containing information about the card holder.

The chip-module was jointly developed by the Institute of Microelectronics under Qinghua University and Qinghua Tongfang Microelectronics Co Ltd, a subsidiary controlled by the University.

According to ministry officials, the thumbnail-sized module will enable the information embedded in the module to be read and processed by a computer. This will greatly increase security because the police can use a card processing machine to check if information in the new card matches a preset code stored in the machine.

The information stored in the chip includes digital data for management and anti-counterfeiting.

The new ID card will be put into use in March in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Changsha, according to ministry officials.

The ministry expects that the nationwide replacement program will be fully completed by the end of 2008 when a total of 1 billion ID cards will be given out.

China started to issue ID cards from 1984 due to a fledging market-oriented economy that required more traveling. The previous household registration system set up in 1958 specified where each Chinese person should live. If they moved, they lost the right to cheaper education and missed out on job opportunities.

The system is considered outdated as millions of Chinese have left their homes to find work.