On September 21, the Ministry of Public Security officially issued new identification cards with parents' names in Hoang Mai, Tay Ho and Tu Liem districts.
The new ID card
A 1,600 square metre headquarters located in Thanh Xuan District will store all the electronic data.
Major General Tran Van Ve, deputy head of General Police Department for Administrative Management for Social Order and Safety, said the new technology from the US will require ID cards the size of an ATM card, and have a 12 ID number on the front. The old ID cards that have only nine numbers will still be valid and both of the old and new ID card must be renewed after 15 years.
A bar code on the back of the ID will provide basic personal information and prevent fraud. The fingerprints included on the card are also easily sent to the data bank for checking.
It is hoped that the new cards will streamline police procedures by reducing the amount of times fingerprints and other information checking must be taken.
Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Tam, deputy head of Hoang Mai District Police Department, said the new electronic ID card is much more difficult to fake. The picture cannot be cut out as in the older cards, and the bar code makes the information easier to manage.
They are also more durable, since they are made of plastic.
Before carrying out the project, the Ministry of Public Security also took into consideration the controversy about printing parents names on ID cards after a number of people complained. According to Tam, the new database management technology can store three identities on one card, the owner's and that of his or her parents.
Lieutenant Colonel Luong Van Khue said people who have lost their parents or do not know their identities will not be forced to include this information.
After the project is carried out in Hoang Mai, Tay Ho and Tu Liem districts, the Ministry of Public Securities plans expand to it other localities.
The project for new electronic ID cards was approved by the Prime Minister in 2004, and cost a total of VND470 billion. New ID cards will be managed through a national database with up-to-date technology.
It is also hoped that this will make it easier to replace lost or stolen ID cards.
ID card with parents' names
Waiting for new cards
Lieutenant-General Pham Quy Ngo, Deputy Minister of Public Security check the equipment