New ID Card Stresses Constitutional Rights

ID cards are de Rigueur worldwide. The majority of countries have some kind of national identification system. A small card makes it easier for people to identify themesleves and to take part in social, political and other activities. But absuse or "authorized" abuse of the card may also cause problems and even encroach upon the basic rights of citizens. China introduced the national identification system in 1985, when regulations on what was then called "residence identification card" were enacted. Over the past 18 years, the country has issued 1.14 billion ID cards and the number of actual card holders has reached 980 million.