How did the new Chinese passport go from strict approval to on-demand application?

For individuals, a passport is a document that allows citizens to enter and exit the country and prove their nationality and identity abroad; for a country, it is the "facade" and a symbol and embodiment of sovereignty. Looking back at the changes in ordinary passports for Chinese citizens in the past 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, we can see that the approval procedures have been gradually simplified, the level of certificate production has been continuously improved, and the "gold content" has become higher and higher. Experts say that it only took the Chinese passport more than 60 years to go through the two to three hundred years of development of Western countries. It is like a mirror, reflecting China's increasingly stronger comprehensive national strength and the Chinese government's increasingly confident and open external image.

From the founding of New China to the period of reform and opening up

Strict management and low processing volume

The "Passport Law of the People's Republic of China" stipulates that Chinese passports are divided into Ordinary passport, diplomatic passport and official passport. Ordinary passports are divided into two types: private passports and public passports. Among them, ordinary passports for Chinese citizens for private purposes (hereinafter referred to as ordinary passports) are mainly issued to Chinese citizens who visit relatives abroad, travel, study, and settle abroad. They are widely used and held in large quantities.

Since the founding of New China, the ordinary passport has undergone more than ten version changes. We can divide it into three periods: from the founding of New China to before reform and opening up, from the early stage of reform and opening up to before the new century, and since the new century. The changes in each period are deeply marked by the times.

From the perspective of management system, in the late 1950s, ordinary passport management began to be transferred from the foreign affairs department to the public security agency. Judging from the content, most of the passport text printing is in Chinese and Russian, which is a direct reflection of the diplomatic situation at that time. In terms of production technology, passports need to be filled in manually, and there are almost zero anti-counterfeiting measures.

Before the reform and opening up, the people who went abroad were mainly construction aid experts and engineering and technical personnel; the vast majority of those who went abroad for private purposes were returned overseas Chinese and their family members, and the number of copies processed each year was only a few thousand. According to Fan Zhenshui, former deputy director of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this was mainly determined by the single public ownership, planned economic system and related political situations at that time. During some periods of time, "the management of going abroad is in a state of 'three noes': no ??clear regulations on acceptance, no clear time for review and approval, and no clear management organization."

From the early stage of reform and opening up to the new century

The reduction of checkpoints and the gradual standardization

For Wang Huiyao, chairman and director of the Globalization Think Tank (CCG), he went abroad in 1984 The experience of applying for a passport before studying abroad is still vivid in my mind.

In 1982, Wang Huiyao, who graduated from Guangzhou International Studies University, came to work in the International Economic Cooperation Department of the former Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. Two years later, he got the opportunity to study in Canada. Although he is a state cadre, he still needs a lot of materials such as invitations to study abroad, sponsorships, salary conditions, scholarships, etc. to apply for a passport. "All the materials combined are as thick as a book." These materials need to be reviewed and approved by the unit, and the public security department will also check their origin, family background, overseas relations, political ideology, etc. More than a month later, he finally got his passport. Wang Huiyao said, "Thanks to the reform and opening up policy, I have the opportunity to study abroad."

However, the actual process for people to apply for a passport is not so smooth. "There are many problems such as the large number of supporting documents required to apply for a passport, the large number of pre-approvals, and the excessive discretionary power of the approval unit, which causes applicants to travel back and forth and prolongs the application time." Xia Liping, a professor at the Department of Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs Management of China Foreign Affairs University, gave an example, At that time, applying for a passport required a stamp from the employer. In order to study abroad, some people had to pay a training fee to their employer before their service period was completed in order to get the stamp from the employer.

Changes began in the 1990s. With the surge in private trips abroad for studying abroad, visiting relatives, and "Singapore-Malaysia-Thailand" travel, the Ministry of Public Security has unified the application and approval procedures for passports for citizens traveling abroad for private purposes nationwide since 1994, and passport applications have entered an era of standardization.

Since entering the new century

Legislative protection has made an astonishing leap

The rise of the economy has led to China’s first wave of overseas tourism reaching a peak at the beginning of this century. Statistics show that in 2001, the number of Chinese outbound tourists exceeded 10 million, accounting for two-thirds of the number of passport applications at that time.

However, at the beginning of the new century, traveling in a group is an important prerequisite for applying for an ordinary passport. Xia Liping said that a big reason why many people take part in group trips is to apply for a passport to facilitate traveling abroad in the future.

In 2001, 10 days after China joined the WTO, the National Public Security Entry-Exit Management Work Conference was held. The meeting announced a number of reform measures such as the pilot application for passports on demand, the lifting of quota restrictions for Hong Kong and Macao tours, and the expansion of port visa points. To this day, the historical significance of this meeting is still huge. It marks the end of the passport approval era since the founding of New China. By 2006, more than 200 large and medium-sized cities across the country have implemented on-demand applications. The Passport Law passed in 2006 and the Exit and Entry Management Law implemented in 2013 legally protect citizens’ rights to enter and exit the country in accordance with the law.

Since the new century, Wang Huiyao’s passport has been renewed several times. "Every time I go to apply for it, I can feel the new changes." He said that in the past, there was only one entry-exit administration office in Beijing, but later every district and county had one, and passports could be issued in other places. The application materials were gradually simplified, and the processing time was reduced from one to one. Two months was shortened to 10 days, and the passport validity period was increased from 5 years to 10 years.

“When entering and exiting, you used to have to fill in various forms, but now you can enter and exit easily with just one passport.

After the emergence of electronic passports in 2012, customs clearance at each port only takes a few seconds. These are all progress. "Wang Huiyao said.

In general, the changes in ordinary passports since the founding of New China have shown four characteristics. First, the document standards are more standardized. The document specifications and column planning are designed and produced with reference to relevant international standards, and gradually Become simple, practical, beautiful and elegant. Second, the anti-counterfeiting performance of documents is stronger. New anti-counterfeiting materials, anti-counterfeiting technologies and production processes are constantly updated, especially the application of digital security anti-counterfeiting technology, which greatly improves the ability of document issuance and management. The level is higher. Passport production has evolved from manual handwriting to fully automated production, and the entire process of document management has been digitized. Fourth, the document issuance management level has become more convenient and safer. For example, the 2012 version of the electronic passport adopts embedded contactless integration. The circuit chip stores the holder's personal information, fingerprints and document issuance information, and adopts a variety of protection mechanisms for the chip data, which not only greatly improves the efficiency of customs clearance, but also marks that the security performance of Chinese passports has reached the world's advanced level.

“Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the ordinary passport version has evolved from a single page filled in manually to now integrating a number of internationally leading certification technologies. The leap is astonishing. Overall, we have gone through the 200-300-year development process of passports in advanced Western countries. "Liang Zhikou said.

Source: People's Daily Online