The government began replacing the old paper ID cards mid-2003 with the new versions, which feature an embedded chip storing a photo, thumbprints and other identifying information. About 3 million of the new cards are now circulating in the city's population of 6.9 million, and the replacement is expected to be completed around 2007. Officials are trying to make that prospect more attractive to local residents by ensuring the smart ID is more useful than its predecessor.
"Applications are the key to driving use of the smart ID card," said Stephen Mak, deputy government chief information officer, in an interview. "I dare say that use of the smart ID card will become mainstream."
The first government service to mesh its systems with the new ID card was the public library system: it lets residents simply use their ID card to check out books, without having to carry a separate library card.
The police and immigration authorities are now adopting a similar model, which promises to have a much broader impact.
Since December, a number of immigration checkpoints at the boundary with mainland China - which handle many thousands of people every day - have set up automated systems, so that people can check themselves through the border with their smart ID cards. And by the middle of 2006, traffic police will be able to verify a driver's identity with the smart ID card alone, making it unnecessary for individuals to carry a separate driver's license.
The capacity of the cards means even more options could be added in the future.
"There was also talk early on in the game as to whether certain health data concerning the individual may be stored on the smart ID card," Mak said. "The capacity is there," he said, though it is up to the hospital system to decide whether to make use of it.
In fact, health officials have already floated the idea. At a public forum earlier this year, Carrie Yau, the permanent secretary for health, welfare and food, said many patients encounter problems as they seek treatment at different hospitals and clinics, because their medical records can't easily move with them.
"We should have an e(lectronic) medical record system which is much more transferable," she said then, while adding that participation in such a system should be voluntary because of possible privacy concerns.
While officials consider how to expand the card's reach in public services, their initial effort to make the ID card a widely used tool in private-sector commerce has largely fallen flat. The card can be equipped with an optional "digital certificate," enabling people to verify identity in a highly secure way for online transactions.
Yet Mak said only 27% of the people who have received a smart ID have chosen to use the certificate. "We come up with this very frequent question: why aren't people embracing the digital cert?"
He said it is essentially because "they don't need to." The certificate does allow residents to do some sensitive government business online - such as changing their registered address for property taxes - but it isn't necessary for most common online purchases.
Use of the certificate is also somewhat cumbersome: it can only be done through a personal computer equipped with an extra device that can read the smart ID card - a device that users must purchase themselves. Mak said the government is looking at ways to have the system available through mobile phones, which could make it more accessible.
"We hope citizens can conduct e-government services on the go, wherever they are, even while they are overseas," he said.
Autor: Andrew Batson
Quelle: Yahoo Finance, 31.05.2005
