SHANGHAI: Shanghai has launched a new residence card system for people who do not have permanent residence in the city, the Shanghai Municipal Information Committee announced yesterday.

The new system includes a database in which personal information about non-permanent residents will be collected.

Officials said the system would make it easier for long-term residents of Shanghai who do not have permanent resident status to use city services.

The project began in June and ended on Monday. The system has been put in place at all districts in Shanghai.

The new cards are available at 235 offices around Shanghai. Long-term residents have been encouraged to go to these offices to apply for the new residence cards.

"The new system will not only be an ID registration system for non-permanent residents in Shanghai, but will also integrate most public services for them," said Zhou Weidong, secretary general of the Shanghai Municipal Information Committee.

Shanghai residence cards will eventually be encoded with personal data like health-care, social security and education information.

According to figures provided by the municipal government, 5.81 million non-permanent residents live in Shanghai, representing about a third of the city's total population.

"The new system will include a database capable of storing 10 million people's personal information," said Zhou.

Government offices will use the database to assist in processing health-care, employment and education services for non-permanent residents.

The new system is expected to make government services more efficient.

(China Daily 12/27/2006 page3)