Lu says fingerprint IDs violate rights

"[The new system] could easily be abused by people for other purposes should there be a lack of comprehensive attendant measures."

Annette Lu, vice president

Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday said the use of fingerprints on a revised national identification card would violate the Constitution and infringe upon human rights, and that she would ask President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to oppose the measure.

The cards will be reissued from July 1, and the Ministry of the Interior intends to replace the old cards with cards that make forgery more difficult. Submission of fingerprints is required according to the Household Registration Law (戶籍法).

Lu, who is also convener of the Presidential Office's Human Rights Advisory Committee, said the committee had always been against the inclusion of fingerprints on the new ID cards.

According to Lu, the committee convened a meeting last week during which it concluded that the submission of fingerprints "violates not only the Constitution and human rights but is also an intrusion on a person's privacy."

"[The new system] could easily be abused by people for other purposes should there be a lack of comprehensive attendant measures," Lu said, adding that former premier and Presidential Office Secretary-General Yu Shyi-kun opposed the idea as well.

Amendments to the Household Registration Law passed in 1997 require all citizens over the age of 14 to submit a full set of fingerprints when applying for an ID card.

The amendment caused controversy among human-rights groups, who viewed compulsory fingerprinting as a violation of human rights.

Consequently, an amendment abolishing the fingerprinting stipulation has been submitted to the Legislative Yuan, but it is yet to be passed.

The Cabinet earlier last month approved revisions to a bill removing the fingerprint requirement from the Household Registration Law. But preparations for the new ID card will be based on current fingerprint requirements in case the bill fails to pass the legislature.

If the bill is not approved, the Ministry will have to purchase around 900 fingerprint scanners at a total cost of NT$500 million (US$15.9 million).