Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) yesterday denied a newspaper report suggesting that household registration certificates may be phased out soon because of their low usage rate.
“The report is not true. On the contrary, we have tentatively decided to retain the paper household registration certificates,” Jiang said in response to a media inquiry upon his arrival at the legislature for a meeting.
The Chinese-language China Times reported yesterday that the Ministry of the Interior was considering abolishing the paper household registration certificates, held by each household to identify its members and their place of residence, which have been used for six decades.
Because of the computerization of the household registration system, residents can obtain a household registration “transcript” at offices in locations outside where they reside, diminishing the importance of each household holding a certificate, the paper said.
The initiative to scrap the certificate was also prompted by the ministry’s efforts to promote a paperless administration and cut red tape, the paper said.
The Department of Population Administration, however, came to the preliminary conclusion that the paper certificate should be preserved after conducting an opinion survey, Jiang said.
The department issued questionnaires to local governments about a month ago to survey their opinions as to whether the certificate should be eliminated, the minister said.
“Local household registration offices were divided, with 11 cities and counties giving the idea the thumbs-up, 11 others opposing the proposal and three failing to give a definite reply,” Jiang said.
Those who opposed scrapping the certificate contended that there were still many practical situations in which the certificate was needed, such as students applying for scholarships or low-income families applying for financial subsidies, Jiang said.
Eliminating the paper certificate, they argued, would force local residents to have to apply separately for a household registration transcript, valid only for six months, whenever such a document was needed, increasing their inconvenience and financial burden, which, according to Jiang, prompted the ministry to tentatively support retaining the certificate.
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