National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ (centre) chairs the session. — VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

HÀ NỘI — The draft Law on Citizen Identification ensured quality and achieved high consensus, said National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vương Đình Huệ on Wednesday when chairing the meeting of the NA Standing Committee to give opinions on the draft law.

Presenting a summary report about revising the draft Law on Citizen Identification, Chairman of the NA’s Committee for National Defence and Security (CNDS) Lê Tấn Tới said that some representatives proposed to change the law’s name, because in recent times, many changes had been conducted in the form, content and name of the identity (ID) cards.

The CNDS believes that changing the form, content, and name of the ID cards is in line with the trend of digital society management, helping the State strictly manage citizens, and at the same time supporting the people in conducting their rights and obligations.

The people can use the ID cards to participate in convenient administrative and social activities and transactions. They are suitable for the digital environment and digital society.

In addition, the current Law on Citizen Identification only regulates the issuance of ID cards to Vietnamese citizens aged 14 and over.

The draft law adds that identification certificates, not ID cards, will be issued for citizens under 14 years old and people of Vietnamese origin with unknown nationality and living in Việt Nam.

Therefore, the law name as submitted by the Government is consistent with the scale and covers all content of the draft law.

Through discussion, the representatives basically agreed with the CNDS’s report.

Regarding issuance and management of electronic ID cards (chapter four in the draft law), some delegates required further reporting on the security of chip-embedded ID cards because they are easily infiltrated and tracked.

The CNDS replied that the current ID cards are manufactured with advanced technology, have high security capabilities, and prevent card counterfeiting.

The electronic chip on the card has authentication technology through fingerprint or face matching to accurately authenticate the cardholder.

When a person uses a device to read information stored in an electronic chip, they must obtain the cardholder's consent through fingerprint and face authentication to gain access and retrieve data.

In addition, to exploit the information in the chip, specialised equipment must be used and these devices must be provided with a security code by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) for information security.

In case other State agencies provide specialised equipment to read information in the ID cards, these devices must be checked by a specialised agency of the MPS and provided with a security code.

Concluding the discussion, NA Chairman Vương Đình Huệ stated that after being debated at the first phase of the sixth session, based on the NA delegates’ opinions, the CNDS closely worked with the lead drafting agency – the MPS, the NA’s Law Committee and concerned agencies to research and reached high consensus.

"The draft law ensures the quality of the requirements set out from the beginning when developing the law, and is qualified to submit to the NA for consideration and voting for approval," said Chairman Huệ.

He requested the CNDS to complete the report in the direction of further emphasising and generalising the issues explained fully and reasonably by the NA deputies.

Speaking at the session, General Tô Lâm, member of the Politburo and Minister of Public Security, said that the law’s drafting agency had closely coordinated with other committees of the NA to complete the draft law.

The CNDS agreed with the representatives’ opinions, especially the conclusions of NA Chairman Huệ.

Lâm affirmed that the MPS would continue to coordinate closely with the CNDS to complete the draft law to submit to the NA for consideration and approval. — VNS