China: Arrests in US OPM case

Chinese government has arrested hackers it says breached OPM database (Washington Post)

Beijing has repeatedly insisted that the government played no role in the intrusions, which compromised sensitive personal, financial and biometric data of the employees, and data on their families.

China: Regulators reluctant to allow online bank account creation

Chinese Regulators Put Brakes on Facial-Recognition for Payment (PYMNTS.com)

Currently, in China, a customer must physically appear at a bank to have his or her identity verified by an employee before he or she can open an account. There is a push in the industry, the report points out, for facial-recognition software to replace the need for a customer’s physical presence to conduct banking business.

China seems to be drawing a regulatory distinction between what ID requirements should be in place in order to open a bank account versus what ID requirements banks can use for authenticating transactions.

Face rec in China

Current facial recognition technology can do more than guess your age, as businesses are finding out (Global Times)

Concluding quote:

Besides traditional application for a secure entry or time clock system, facial recognition technology can be used in other fields such as remote identification.

The market for facial recognition technology is ultimately decided by the population. China has an immense population, which makes it a potentially huge market, according to the report from Bosi Data Research Center.

"But customers should know that multimodal biometric identification is much safer than single biometric identification, especially when the technology is used in finance," Lü said. "We can't ensure the facial recognition technology can be 100 percent accurate, and it's safer if you can use other biometric identification together."

There's more good information at the link.

Chinese giants join mobile fingerprint payments fray

Alibaba teams up with Huawei to let Alipay Wallet users pay with just their fingerprint (TNW)

[...]Alibaba has announced a way to make its payments service Alipay even more secure on a smartphone — with the introduction of fingerprinting technology in a deal that it inked with smartphone manufacturer Huawei.

Market Report: China fingerprint biometrics revenue six-fold increase by 2018

China Biometrics Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2018 (Research and Markets)

“China Biometrics Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2018”, identifies that fingerprint identification market in China is anticipated to grow at the CAGR of around 38%, reaching up by six folds revenue by the end of 2018. Anhui, Shandong and Shanghai are the leading provinces of eastern region, generating highest revenue in biometrics market when compared with other regions in the country. One of the other large biometric projects is e-passports, which is primarily to be implemented in Shaanxi province in northern region and would act as the main growth driver for biometrics market in the next five years. The major players of biometrics industry in China are Zk Technology, Ingersoll Rand, Rosslare Security, Zks Group and Suprema Inc.

Calling the roll with face rec

It doesn't take a Ph.D.  to read the same list of people's names over and over again. So why do we make them do it?

Facial-recognition use grows as accuracy rises, cost declines (China Daily)

Wei Xiaoyong, an associate professor at Sichuan University, used to worry about taking roll call for his class of 100 students.

"It is time-consuming. But students who attend classes every day say it is unfair if I do not do it."

Wei eventually found the solution - a face recognition system.

With the system, all he has to do is to use an ordinary pocket camera to take a picture of the class. Wei then uploads the picture and the computer will automatically find out who showed up for class.

Wei has not noted a single absence since he started using the system.

New China travel policy includes collecting biometrics of foreign travelers

China Exit-Entry law up (Tempo - Philippines)

Key provisions of the law include requiring residence permits for foreigners residing in China, issuing a “catalog” for foreign workers, putting a cap on the extension of visas, creation of national database for exit and entry information, collection of biometric data of foreigners, and the introduction of “Green Cards.”

China: Fingerprint-on-Chip Passports from May 15

Chinese passports to get chipped (People's Daily)

The new passports will look similar to traditional ones but an electronic chip will be inserted inside containing elements including the holder's name, date of birth, photo and finger prints, said a statement from the ministry.

Under preparation for three years, the new passports will be available from May 15.

China: Railway Station Facial Recognition

China's high speed rail operators to introduce facial identification system (MSN India)

In a recent hunt for a suspect who fled from southern China, police at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station used almost all team members to search the station as a train arrived.

They finally caught the suspect based on two vague photos.

China: E-payment booms (Guardian.co.uk)
Use your fingerprint to buy a bowl of noodles for half off at 10 yuan ($1.60).

Jakarta, Indonesia: 7 of city's 9 million residents expected to get biometric ID cards (The Jakarta Post)

Mauritania: Minorities not too keen on biometric census (AFP)

15 Minutes of Biometric Fame

Face Rec in Modern Art Installation (TMCNet.com)

The installation scans each visitor's facial features using biometric video analysis software and compares them to those stored in a database which features online celebrities found through searches in the world's major languages.

The museum hosting this and other installations is the National Art Museum in Beijing. Much more on the use of technology to make an artistic point at the link.

It's not the tech, it's the people: Canada & India

In an international version of "it's not about the tech, it's about people"...
Canada appears to be heading for another diplomatic dust-up with India (The Star - Toronto)

That amount is not enough to introduce biometrics in every Canadian overseas mission, so immigration officials are now trying to decide which countries should be first.

Security hotspots like Pakistan and Yemen are at the top of the list, but there was room for one large-volume nation as well, according to sources, and India is the recommended choice over China.

The decision could damage relations between Canada and India, which have only recently begun to improve.

This really seems to be more about the rivalry between China and India than biometrics.

I think the author nails it in the concluding paragraphs. I'd also add that, given India's UID project, if the Canadian customs information on Indian citizens is shared back with India, India would be in a position to gain a better picture of how Indian passports are used than China would be if China was in India's place.