The provincial capital becomes the 10th city in Guangdong to introduce such simplified passport application procedures. The other cities are Zhongshan, Shunde, Zhuhai, Jiangmen, Foshan, Yangjiang, Shenzhen, Dongguan and Huizhou. All lie on the prosperous Pearl River Delta which borders Hong Kong and Macao.

Applicants should be able to get their passports within 15 working days under the new rules.

Zhu Mingjian, deputy director-general of the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security, said the simplified passport application system will cover all the cities in the province beginning next year, two years ahead of the schedule set by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.

Addressing a press conference yesterday, Zhu predicted Guangzhou will witness a surge in passport applicants in the near future and that overseas tours will become more common.

Zhu promised to further expand co-operation with courts, procuratorates, personnel and justice departments at all levels to establish a larger information network to prevent those who are not allowed to go abroad from getting their passports and travel documents.

Currently, inmates, economic criminal suspects, senior government officials, State-owned enterprise directors and managers and those who are now working in banks, taxation bureaux, on State key projects and for other financial companies still have to obtain approval from their companies or public security departments to apply for passports and travel documents.

Zhu's bureau has investigated a total of 283 people who had used false materials to apply for passports since the province's Zhongshan city took the lead to require its residents to submit only an identity card and household registration to apply for passports in April 2001.

Twelve of the accused were suspected of various economic problems such as being in arrears with taxes and owing bank loans valued at more than 340 million yuan (US$40.96 million). Their applications were thrown out.

And Zheng Deming, deputy director of the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Public Security, said his bureau would allow the city's temporary residents who have been living or working in Guangzhou for at least six months to apply for travel documents to visit Hong Kong and Macao starting next year.

(China Daily October 30, 2002)