The Ministry of the Interior yesterday made it mandatory for all citizens to submit their thumbprints to a national database when receiving their national identity cards, as the amendment to the current regulation failed to be reviewed in the Legislative Yuan.
"Because of numerous complaints about forged ID cards, we decided to establish a national thumbprint database," said Yu Cheng-hsien (
Yu said that himself and the ministry would try to convince human-right groups and other government departments, such as the president's advisory group on human rights, to agree with the proposal.
In the past, the government has replaced national ID cards every 10 years.
But the latest version, which was due to be introduced in 1995, has been delayed amid controversy over whether to establish a national database of fingerprints.
A 1997 amendment to the Household Registration Law (
The president's advisory group on human rights, however, objects to the plan, saying it infringes on civil rights.
A draft amendment, prompted by the group's objections and lodged by the interior ministry on behalf of the Cabinet, failed to be reviewed during this legislative session, while the ministry said that the ID card's replacement is an urgent matter.
According to the database plan, the prints would be taken when citizens register for their cards.
Yu said that the fingerprints would prevent ID cards from being forged and ensure the ID cards' uniqueness. He also emphasized that the database would not be used for any sort of criminal investigation.
Lin Feng-jeng (林峰正), president of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, however, argued that he has doubts regarding Yu's guarantee.
"Minister Yu promised that they would ban the media filming of arrested suspects in police stations, but they failed to achieve it. How can we believe him again?" Lin said.
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