In a communiqué dated August 10, the China Reform Monitor reported that as of January 1st, 2004, the Chinese government will initiate a far-reaching experiment as it introduces the use of electronic identification cards. This was first reported by the Dow Jones news service.

Starting next year, the electronic ID cards will begin to replace the paper-based national ID cards now carried by 960 million Chinese citizens. The new ID card has an embedded microchip storing an individual's personal information, which can be read electronically and checked against databases stored by China's security authorities.

 

The repercussions for civil liberties could be momentous. Critics claim that such a system creates the potential for misuse of data by the government or companies who could access the cards. A new law governing ID cards that was passed in June was stripped of its most reformist provisions. Chinese security forces have long been enthusiastic adopters of new technology – for instance, in monitoring Internet and e-mail traffic. The New York Times adds, “The cards would make it easier for the government to monitor political or religious dissidents. After China’s 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators, the government used televised photographs and identification card numbers of student leaders being sought. “Under the new system, tracking dissidents would be much easier,” said Nicolas Bequelin at the Hong Kong office of the Human Rights in China organization.