I have been reading about the government's plans to use digital certificates, which will be incorporated in the so-called smart identity cards.
The other day you featured a letter from Dr John Bacon-Shone ('Incomplete account of digital certificates', March 18), which said that people should be able to use a password to pay their taxes on the Internet, and that Microsoft Windows should not be used to make the smart cards.
I agree with Dr Bacon-Shone that it is wrong that one American company should control the way our ID cards are read. I also think it is wrong that any information should be stored inside my ID card.
This issue has been debated many times, but it is essential that there should be no security problems that could lead to the fraudulent use of security cards.
If I lose my old ID card, I only have to worry about a HK$500 fine and the trouble I would have to replace it. But if I lose the new card, will I have to worry about someone using it to gain access to my bank account?
My Hong Kong ID card is my identification, and I have to show it to many people. If I show it to someone who makes a copy of it, how can I believe my so-called smart ID card is safe?
