China to issue electronic passports with fingerprint data

Beijing (CNS) -- The Chinese public security authority is issuing electronically-enhanced passports starting May 15, the government confirmed on Thursday. The new generation will include the security upgrade of fingerprint data.

An electronic ally-enhanced passport incorporates into the traditional paper passport a microchip containing the name, the birth date, photo, digital signature, and other personal data of its holder.

Only the authority that issues the passport and customs offices will be equipped with devices that can decode and read the digital profile on the chip.

In terms of design, the patterns on the new paper passports will include a number of Chinese traditional elements, covering history, geography and ethnic cultures.

More than 90 countries around the globe have adopted electrically enhanced passports since they first appeared in 2004.

China issues 10 million passports to the public every year, 10 times the number granted in the mid 1990s. The annual output continues to grow at a rate of about 20 percent.