TNAG-0874-FCO40-1084-Legislation-for-births--deaths-and-adoption-in-Hong-Kong-1979 — Page 66

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CONFIDENTIAL ##

ANNEX A TO XCC(79)61

Summary of the Report of the Working Party

on the Registration of Fersons

Terms of Reference

(i)

(ii)

to consider the existing requirements and procedures for registration under the Registration of Persons Ordinance (Cap. 177) in the light of the needs of Government Departments generally and the Immigration Department in particular;

to make recommendations designed to eliminate duplication, inconsistencies or overlapping in the various procedures which may emerge from this study; and

(iii) to report on any related matters.

Summary

2.

After a short introduction, the Report outlines the origins and developments of the Registration of Persons system. The starting point is the introduction of the Identity Card in connection with rationing after the occupation, through the Reports of the Trench Committee twenty years ago, when the system was last reviewed, until the present day. The main conclusions that can be drawn from this section of the Report are that little has changed in the system in the last twenty years and that the Identity Card is now de facto a residence card. This is followed by a summary of the present uses of the system. These are to register local residents and issue them with identity cards, to maintain an up-to-date record of personal particulars of identity card

holders, to make this information available to government

departments and to provide a unique identifier of local residents.

ろ。

The next section of the Report describes the present functioning of the system and is followed by an outline of the requirements of its users. This shows that many government departments, as well as the business community place considerable importance on the cards, particularly the Immigration Department. The importance of the information in the Registration of Persons Departments to departments, particularly the Immigration Department and the law enforcement agencies is also demonstrated.

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There follows an examination of the shortcomings and defects of the present system. These include the multiplicity of names and other particulars under which an individual is frequently recorded with different departments, the widespread failure to comply with the requirements of the existing legislation, the inaccuracy of the records held in the Registration of Persons Department, the inadequacy of the present identity cards, the limitations on access to the records and the difficulties under the present system of registering illegal immigrants. The section finishes with a conclusion that there is a close relationship between the work of the Immigration and Registration of Fersons Departments.

CONFIDENTIAL

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