China's first draft passport law aimed at standardizing passport application, issue and management was on Saturday submitted to China's top legislature for first hearing.
   
As more and more Chinese going abroad for study, business or travel after the country opens wider to the outside world, the existing regulation on passport application has no longer adapted to the changing situation, said Cao Kangtai, director of the Legislative Affairs Office of China's State Council, at the 19th session of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress.
   
Cao said the draft law specifying the categories and the application process of passports is greatly needed to meet the increasing demand.
   
Official statistics show that China issued more than 4.8 million passports in 2004 while before 1978 the annual average figure was only 17,000.
   
In this regard, China has gone through a process of reform. In the late 1970s, the government used to strictly control Chinese going abroad. After its reform and opening to the outside world, it simplified the procedures for the passport application. Now the Chinese citizens can apply for passports according to their needs. Especially after China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, Chinese citizens have much easier access to passports.
   
In order to suit the needs of anti-terrorism, the international civil aviation organization has asked its members to use fingerprinting passports before 2010, Cao said the draft law should accord with the international practice of anti-fraudulence and anti-terrorism.
   
The draft passport law also specifies legal consequences on any passport-related crimes including faking passports and profiting from passport purchase.

(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2005)