Beijing citizen Wang Xi'an, who works in the Chinese capital's
"Silicon Valley," Zhongguancun, finished applying for his passport
in just minutes Monday.
He
was the first applicant at the new Zhongguancun personal passport
registration office, which opened for business the same day. Wang
now just has to wait to receive his passport by express
delivery.
More than 20 applicants were waiting at the counter two hours after
the office opened. "Many people in the hi-tech hub of Zhongguancun
need to go abroad at times, so we have put an office here to raise
the efficiency of passport registration and for the convenience of
our clients," said an official in the Entry and Exit Administration
of the Beijing Public Security Bureau.
The bureau said at present the Zhongguancun office accepted
applications only from people going abroad for the first time, and
sent passports to them by mail. Ten working days are required for
an urgent application.
Another passport registration office will open in a matter of days
in the Chaoyang District of east Beijing, where the city's Central
Business District and embassies are located.
(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2003)