Universal coverage of social welfare will hopefully be realized when the identity card number of residents is used for social security registration, says an editorial in Nanfang Metropolis News. The following is an excerpt:

In a draft of the law on social security submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress over the weekend, it stipulates that the number of a resident's identity card will be used for employees, the self-employed and part-time workers.

It means that Chinese citizens will have life-long social security accounts. And social security will become a universal right for all citizens regardless of their employment or addresses in the household registration system.

Under the well-developed system, every citizen will have his or her own social security number. Information on every individual will be recorded - education, employment, income, tax and debts. Welfare will be guaranteed regardless of changes in employment or residence.

Compared with the current social welfare system based on people's employment, the new system will improve social fairness by eliminating the differences between urban and rural residents.

In certain parts of the country, there have been pilot projects to use ID numbers. In the draft law, the practice encompasses the whole country.

Of course, there are several technical details that should be looked at when the system is introduced, but they are not difficult to overcome.

As long as there is a basic framework to ensure universal coverage of social welfare, people will welcome it.

(China Daily December 27, 2007)