Xu Xiaolin's father, an 88-year-old man in France, confirms the identity of his son via the remote video system of an online police service station in Paris. [Photo/rarb.cn]

An online police service station helped an 88-year-old overseas Chinese man to restore his son's personal identity by collaborating with Tangxia police office in Ruian, a county-level city in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. 

Xu Xiaolin, former name Xu Shaolin in Ruian, now lives in France with his father. To match the dialects in Ruian, he changed his name to Xu Xiaolin on his passport, which is inconsistent with his real name in the registered permanent residence in China. 

In order to identify that these two names are for the same person, Tangxia police office asked Xu's father, who because of his age has difficulties in returning home in person, to confirm the identity of his son via the remote video system of a liaison office in Paris. 

"The remote video system is very convenient, which saves a lot of trouble for my 88-year-old father," said Xu. 

"It marks the first time the service station in Paris has dealt with household registration business via the remote video system since its establishment," said Zhu Chongjian, one of the Tangxia police officers, adding that the system brings great benefits for overseas Chinese. 

The online station, as a part of Zhejiang's effort in promoting its administrative reform of "At Most One Visit", aims to cut down on excessive red tape for overseas Chinese and provide more efficient services for them.