Directly-elected lawmaker-cum-unionist Ella Lei Cheng I, who chairs the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) 1st Standing Committee, which is currently reviewing a government-initiated bill that proposes allowing local residents to use an e-ID certificate for certain public services, said yesterday that the government plans to use e-ID certificates for crossing Macau’s border checkpoints, but for the time being the e-ID won’t be able to be used at the e-channels that adopt the “joint inspection and one-time release” immigration and customs system.
Lei made the remarks during a press briefing after yesterday’s closed-door meeting in the legislature reviewing the new ID bill, with the attendance of officials from the Identification Services Bureau (DSI) and other government officials.
The bill proposes to amend Macau’s current law regulating the government’s issuing of ID cards, which was enacted in 2002.
The “joint inspection and one-time release” Macau-mainland immigration and customs system enables travellers to pass border controls only once (instead of twice) when completing their departure and arrival formalities, was first adopted by the Zhuhai-Macau checkpoint of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) and later by the Macau-Zhuhai joint border checkpoint in Hengqin, as well as the Qingmao border checkpoint.
Lei quoted the government officials as saying that an e-ID certificate template and a QR code for crossing the border have been developed, adding that the DSI has been in touch with various security authorities to get this tested and technically ready.
Talking about why the e-ID cannot be used in e-channels of the border checkpoints that adopt “joint inspection and one-time release”, Lei said that this involves information-sharing with the mainland and, consequently, requires further discussions with the mainland.
According to Lei, the government plans to apply the e-ID certificate to the public sector and authorised private sector entities to access data, but the types of data to be read would be subject to authorisation by the DSI.
Lei also quoted the government as saying that the e-ID is a dynamic and time-sensitive e-certificate with five anti-counterfeit features, including anti-counterfeit lines, timely automatic refresh and display of the respective time when used.
Lei stressed that each user can only generate an e-ID certificate with one smartphone registered in their name.
According to Lei, the DSI has also commissioned a third party to conduct security checks on the network infrastructure and applications of the e-ID certificate system.
Lawmaker-cum-unionist Ella Lei Cheng I (right), who chairs the legislature’s 1st Standing Committee, talks to reporters after yesterday’s closed-door meeting reviewing the government’s new ID bill, as the committee’s secretary, Becky Song Pek Kei, looks on. – Photo: Ginnie Liang
