Electronic credentials matter of substance

On Tuesday, domestic e-commerce giant Alipay announced it had introduced a new service allowing married couples to get electronic versions of their marriage certificates. China Daily writer Zhang Zhouxiang comments:

There are many circumstances when a marriage certificate is needed, such as when a couple is applying for a loan, purchasing or selling property, property inheritance, as well as registering a child for school.

This has meant providing the paper marriage certificate. Anybody who has ever gone through such administrative procedures knows how easy it is to forget the certificate. Besides, the paper certificate can get damaged over time, which brings more inconveniences because its holder might have to apply for a new one.

Putting the two above-mentioned problems aside, there is a problem of counterfeiting. Every year there are reports of illegal activities involving the use of counterfeit marriage certificates. An electronic certificate will be much more difficult to counterfeit because it will be linked with an online database.

So far, the electronic marriage certificates are available in Fujian, Jiangxi, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and Chongqing municipality. More provincial-level administrative regions can follow their example so that residents can enjoy more conveniences.

And marriage certificates are not the only one of over 90 government certificates that can be provided as an electronic version. Driving licenses, social security cards, ID cards, all have electronic versions that are available in certain provinces and cities. Residents can apply for them with a few simple clicks on a smartphone app.

However, a big problem with these certificates is that the systems of the various cities and provinces are not interconnected. Take the electronic marriage certificates as an example: Each province, municipality, or autonomous region has its own separate database but there is no national one that links them together.

As a result, some people have made use of the deficiency to marry different spouses in different provinces, as reported by media outlets. Such deeds are illegal. It is to be hoped that the building of a national database can be accelerated so as to prevent that from happening.