ENG-2002 — Page 512

POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION

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The Immigration Department also issues identity cards to Hong Kong residents. There are two types of identity cards: the Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card issued to persons who have the right of abode in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Identity Card issued to residents who do not have that right. During the year, 526 857 identity cards were issued: including 284 775 to new arrivals and persons attaining the age of 11 or 18 years, and 210 692 to people who applied for replacement identity cards due to loss, damage or change of personal particulars.

The Government is making preparations to introduce a new generation of identity cards for Hong Kong residents in mid-2003, and thereafter to launch a region-wide identity card replacement exercise which will be completed within four years. The new identity card will take the form of a 'smart' card and will employ state-of-the-art technologies to make it more secure and fraud-resistant. While the personal particulars of the cardholder will be engraved by laser on the card surface, the templates of his two thumbprints as well as his facial image will be stored in the chip and protected by sophisticated cryptographic techniques. This will enable the Immigration Department to use the fingerprint identification technology to quickly authenticate the cardholder's identity and make possible the introduction of an Automated Passenger Clearance System and Automated Vehicle Clearance System in future. It is expected that when these two systems become operational, the Immigration Department will be able to open more counters for the traveling public and hence reduce passengers' waiting time for clearance at the control points.

If the cardholder so chooses, he can also use his smart identity card as a library card and a driving licence in the near future. A Hongkong Post digital certificate may also be embedded into the chip, free of charge, so that the cardholder can have access to a variety of E-government services and other secure electronic transactions. In addition, spare capacity will be reserved in the chip to cater for introduction of other possible applications like e-purse. The implementation of a smart identity card scheme will therefore enable the Government to capitalise on the development of smart card technology to provide more efficient, better quality and value-added services to the community. This will be a significant step forward in enhancing the overall information infrastructure, promoting e-commerce and keeping Hong Kong at the leading edge of technology and innovation.

The total cost of the project (including the non-recurrent and recurrent costs) is estimated to be around $2.8 billion over a seven-year period from 2001-02 to 2007-08. Development of the identity card issuance system is now under way. In view of the public's concern on personal data privacy, the Government is adopting a comprehensive strategy to enhance the protection of personal data through technical, legislative and procedural means. A Bills Committee of the Legislative Council is now examining the legislative amendments proposed by the Government. The Government is confident that the new smart identity card will be of the highest standard in terms of quality, security and data privacy.

Marriages

Marriage registration in Hong Kong is governed by the Marriage Ordinance. All marriages contracted under the ordinance involve the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. There is no residential or nationality requirement for the marrying parties but neither of them can be under the age of 16 years.