Chinese passports to get chipped
The official QA from the Ministry on the new passports says China will use the same smart-card based chip technology adopted elsewhere and that only Chinese authorities will be able to read much of the data they store. That will include a signature, photograph and fingerprint. Applicants for the new passports must submit the latter, unless they are under 16 years of age and their parents disapprove of the procedure. China will therefore create a database of the biometric identifiers of passport holders. The new passports will also use “colorless fluorescent printing, shaped rainbow printing, multi-level, multi-color wiring, gravure luster ink, laser perforation and high-resolution holographic protection film, the announcement says (in translation, via. Google).”
Article source: http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/05/04/china_chips_its_passports/