Sparing No Effort for the Convenience of Citizens

A costal metropolis of much significance and the southern gateway of China， Guangzhou serves， as ever， a hub along the "Belt and Road". For years it has ranked among the top cities in China in terms of the number of exit and entry permits issued.

Responsible for issuing outbound travel permits to Chinese citizens and providing related consulting services， the Second Branch of the Exit and Entry Administration Office of Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau was established in October 2012.The branch is an administrative unit with a staff of 14 regular police officers and 21 auxiliary officers. The last few years have witnessed the branch top many lists in China， for instance， in the number of exit and entry permits issued， digitalization of services， the diversification of channels for citizens to apply for permits， and the number of service reservations received. Therefore， the Branch has been honored with quite a number of awards， including "China's Most Satisfactory Civil Servant Body" "China's Exemplary Public Security Organ in Caring for Citizens" and "China's Outstanding Community-Level Public Security Organ" . Representatives of the police officers of the Second Branch have been granted two audiences with national leaders.

Less Is More

At one point， a senior citizen left a message on the reception desk， saying： "There is an abundance of self-service machines， but many elderly people are functional illiterate or simply intimidated." In response， the police officers invited the technical department to widen the viewable areas of the screens and enlarge the font. They also paid a visit to the senior resident and invited them for a personal experience of the upgraded devices. Deeply touched， the senior exclaimed， "You have really taken citizens' words to heart."

To address the problems of inconvenient traffic and insufficient parking space， the Second Branch made an all-out effort in 2021 to get authorized to make a comprehensive improvement to the hall by relocation， redesign and rebuilding.

The Branch adopted the philosophy of "less is more" to streamline the service procedure.

The first objective is "less time". All services are made available on the same floor， with specially designated personnel offering guidance in the service hall. Thanks to this arrangement， all visitors spend less than 10 minutes to get their business done on entry.

The Chief of the Second Branch Xiong Minyi found that many seniors had trouble using a smart phone to show a health code in order to enter the service hall during the pandemic. To address this issue， she turned to a digital services company to develop a smart， AI-powered system for pandemic control. With this system， seniors can now produce the health code by swiping their ID cards instead of scanning a QR code with their smart phone. This solution has brought great convenience to the elderly who are not adept at using smart phones. With the thumbs up， many seniors expressed their gratitude， "I have problems using my mobile phone， but now I can get a health code in less than two seconds by simply swiping my ID card. It's amazingly convenient！"

The second objective is "less trips". The Second Branch has been working hard on the integration of online and offline services. For instance， they offer precise and complete guidance via the service hotlines at 12345 and 12367 on how to apply for exit and entry permits. They aim to inform applicants of everything necessary for the application， so that they can get the services they need in no more than one trip. Some services are even available through two-way express delivery， thus dispensing with the need to even physically visit.

The other day， a girl student from Hong Kong rushed into the service hall for help， as the pandemic prevented her from going back to Hong Kong to renew her expired Home Return Permit. Chief Xiong kept the matter in mind after getting to know the ins and outs of her situation. One month later， superior authorities released a policy that allows residents of Hong Kong to renew their travel permits in the Mainland. Xiong immediately contacted the girl's family and informed them of the news. What a relief to her！.

A citizen diagnosed with a kind of cancer known as intrahepatic cholangio carcinoma arranged to travel for surgical treatment in Japan， but the patient could not physically go to the service hall to renew his passport. Shortly after receiving the call for help， the Branch arranged for experienced staff members to beat a path to the door to handle the application.

The third objective is"less paperwork". Inter-departmental data sharing now enables citizens to apply for services with much less paperwork.

The fourth objective is to "subtract" service charges. Services like photocopying and self-help photography are supplied at no charge to reduce even the smallest hassles for citizens.

Meanwhile， more services are provided to the citizens.

The first objective is "more intelligent" services. To that end， various types of self-service devices are equipped in the service hall to offer citizens full access to the digital and intelligent services in the exit and entry administration.

The second objective is "more efficient" services. For that purpose， a service room especially for enterprises has been set up in the service hall to facilitate the business registration of enterprises incorporated in Hong Kong or Macau. From 2021 onwards， up to 495 people from 320 enterprises of this kind have been provided registration services by specially assigned staff at exclusive counters， while 471 people from 179 enterprises have obtained on-the-spot registration services.