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Resident Identification Cards in China may be undergoing some changes. The ID cards are mandatory for all Chinese citizens older than 16. Although the regime says the proposed changes would improve security and privacy measures, activists are questioning the motive behind the changes.
Chinese rights activists are concerned proposed amendments to the Resident Identification Cards law will only further the Chinese regime's control of the public.
The State Council announced the proposal, after an executive meeting on September 19. Authorities say changes are needed to improve anti-counterfeit functions of ID cards, increase the protection of personal information, and lay the foundation for collecting demographic information for social management.
Rights activist Mo Chuanhen believes the regime's aim is to exert more control.
[Mo Chuanhen, Chinese Rights Activist]:
"The starting point is still for maintaining stability for the regime, to suppress the public. This proposed amendment, like many others, show that the state wants to expand its power, while the public's power is shrinking."
So far, the Chinese regime has not revealed the details of the proposed amendments. Some fear, however, that it would require citizens to provide more personal information to authorities. A senior communist official argued for this move in March, saying it would make it harder to counterfeit ID cards. New information to go on the cards may include fingerprints, parental and spouse information as well as any medical conditions that would change the physical appearance of a cardholder.
