C|Net reports that "China will replace paper national identification (ID) cards with electronic identity cards starting 2004, according to wire agency Dow Jones."
The new digital ID card which uses smart ID technology will be carried by 960 million Chinese citizens. The embedded microchip in the plastic card stores an individual's personal information that can be read and checked against databases kept by China's security authorities.
As far as I can tell, this is not an RFID based system, but a contact smart card. The Auto-ID Center in Shanghai has offered to get more information, if anybody needs it.
Posted by: Kevin Ashton at August 20, 2003 07:56 PM