CRI听力:No ID Demand Yet for Express Deliveries

YTO Express, one of China's major express delivery companies, denied that it will require customers to show their identity cards when delivering packages, days after it was reported to do so.

Mr. Wang, a senior manager at YTO Express, who declined to reveal his full name, said the company will follow related regulations if couriers are requested to check customers' ID information. However, the company will not do so until instructed.

While believing that the real-name registration system will ease security concerns, Mr. Wang says implementing the system will be difficult.

"There will be some problems concerning the law and actual business operation. For example, do the couriers have the right to check customers' IDs? Are customers obliged to show their IDs? In terms of business operations, it will take longer for couriers to deal with packages by checking ID cards as well as checking the contents of packages. Furthermore, many customers don't want their packages and IDs to be checked."

Many couriers agree that launching the real-name registration system will be tough. Checking a customer's ID information will be difficult, said a courier from Yunda Express, another major Chinese courier company.

"It depends on whether the customers cooperate or not. Many customers don't want to reveal their personal information."

The obvious concern for customers is the loss of privacy. Han Ping, an office worker who often uses express delivery services, says she doesn't want her personal information to be recorded by express delivery companies.

"Can the express delivery companies keep my information secret? Do they have the right to record my information? I won't know whether the couriers will use my information to do other things."

To date, the real-name registration system for express delivery services has only been piloted in Shaoxing County of east China's Zhejiang province, with the support of the local police. All 25 courier companies within the region now demand customers' IDs before delivering packages.

Wang, the YTO manager, said the launch of the real-name registration system needs more support from lawmakers, and requires a number of adjustments to be made.

"Even if we were required by regulations to check a customer's ID, we still need to adjust our inner management system according to the regulations. That will require new internal policies and staff training. These things can't be done within a short period of time."

Though there is currently no need to record personal information, express delivery companies are required to check the contents of what they deliver. According to a new notice issued by the Beijing Municipal Postal Administration this month, from March 1 couriers should check all packages delivered and confirm that a check has taken place using a special stamp. If a customer refuses to show the courier what he or she intends to send, the courier should refuse to deliver the package. The national standard for express delivery services, which will be implemented on May 1, will require thorough checks on 100 percent of all packages contents.

Crimes carried out via delivery services have been on the rise in recent years. The latest case saw a man in south China's Guangzhou city being injured by a homemade bomb sent by express delivery on February 6.

For CRI, I'm Li Ningjing.