HEFEI, May 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese children, as young as infants, are now entitled to an identity card they previously could not gain until 18 years of age, while some parents argue the expanded use of ID cards at younger ages may lead to rising risks.

¡¡¡¡In east China's Anhui Province, over 300 children under 16 years old have applied for an ID card since February, the youngestof whom was only 14 months.

    According to the Chinese law on identity cards that took effect at the beginning of this year, if they wish, citizens younger than 16 are authorized to have an ID card.

    Wang Banghu, professor and dean of the department of social sciences of Anhui University, said the use of ID cards marks efficiency of China's population management, and the expansion of its use to children shows "care about humans and respect to individuals" during the Chinese society's transformation to modernity.

    "The children were born (Chinese) citizens, and they can enjoy rights at a moderate level and have responsibility within their capacity," the professor said.

    But some parents think differently. Zhang Ping, a ten-year-old child's mother, said with an ID card, juveniles could travel and check in to hotels without their parents' permission, risking unrestrained behaviors or even illegal activities.

    In China people are required to bear legal identity documents, with the identity card the most universally used and accepted, to prove their legitimate identity when traveling, lodging, joining the army, marrying, adopting, going abroad, buying houses, banking savings and taking planes.

    China began its ID card use in the mid-1980s but Chinese had little sense of using ID cards for a long period under the planned economy. The free market reform brought about booming economic growth. As a result free and massive human movement for business purposes greatly promoted the use of the ID card, which is the most legal binding identity document.

    Huang Xiaolin, a 14-year-old girl, was happy to have her own ID card. She used to be annoyed by troubles in proving her identity when traveling alone, taking a plane or checking in to hotels. She got her ID card with her mother's help, saying that "I felt as if I had grown up and should take some social responsibility the moment I got my ID card, which my parents have had."

    Xu Jia, the 14-month-old baby, was too young to feel surprised at his father's decision to get him an ID card. His father, surnamed Xu, said he wanted to open a bank account in his son's name and deposit regularly a certain amount of money for the son's future education.

    "The baby had no ID card before and it's hard to open a bank account for him. But now it is easy," Xu said. Chinese banks require, as the law stipulates, people to show their ID cards to prove legal identity when applying for a bank account.

    China issued the law on identity cards to replace its nearly two-decade-old regulations on identity cards that were put in force in 1985. Meanwhile, China is starting a nationwide program to replace the first generation ID card with the second intelligent, computer-accessible ID card.

    China has so far issued a total 1.3 billion ID cards, includingreissues for people who lost previous ones and people holding ID cards number 900 million, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

    According to Zhang Zhenhua, ID card officer of the Public Security Bureau of Hefei, capital of Anhui, Children will go through the same procedures in applying for an ID card. Cards for children and adults are same in size, color and pattern with the only difference the validity period: five years for children below16 and 10 years for people aged between 16 and 25 and even longer for older people.

    According to Zhang, the reasons children would apply for an ID card are various. Other than traveling, lodging or opening bank accounts, some parents want to buy houses in their children's names, and some under-16 students need to have ID cards to take college entrance examinations as required. And in some cases, children or their parents did so simply out of curiosity.

    Police officers suggested parents be cautious in their children's application and use of ID cards, especially those kids of very young ages whose appropriateness in using ID cards is questionable.

    On the other hand, some parents controlled the ID cards of children, including some relatively older ones, and this limited children's freedom in card use, according to Zhang Zhenhua.

    Wang Banghu, the professor, said the government should considerto issue ID cards especially made for kids with a different color and shape from those for adults. Wang proposed that children change ID cards, when they become mature, at a formal ceremony marking their adulthood and this will help them be aware that theyhave "grown up" in their process of becoming a member of the society. Enditem