A criminal ring selling the quotas of Beijing hukou, or household registrations, was cracked in recent days with 16 offenders arrested or detained. It is not the first time that such an illegal business has been uncovered. The fact that managers of human resources in some State-owned enterprises are involved points to the abuse of such quotas.

This business is illegal but it has existed for a long time as many university graduates covet the long-term benefits a Beijing hukou entails. With such a certificate, it is easier for a graduate to land a job in the capital, and with a job in the city and his or her family as residents, there is a better chance their child(ren) will enter better schools and universities.

That explains why many are willing to pay through the nose for such a certificate. And that willingness to hand over large sums of money attracts those willing to break the rules to pocket it.

What makes the matter ridiculous is the fact that some State-owned enterprises and even some private science companies get hukou quotas every year to help them get the talented human resources they need for their work, but it is these hukou that are the ones for sale.

In other words, a policy that is meant to facilitate the recruitment of talented professionals for SOEs or science and technology companies has been abused to open the door for those who are willing to buy their passage into the capital as local citizens, regardless of whether they have the talent or not.

The SOEs and private companies that have sold such quotas deserve severe punishments, not least because such quotas are intended to ultimately benefit the country. They were fully aware that the sale of such quotas has tilted the competition for entering the capital in favor of wealth not talent.

Despite reform of the household registration system, the population in megacities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou will still be tightly controlled since too rapid increases in their populations will greatly drain their resources and will not be sustainable.

If the hukou quota approach continues to be used to control the population of these metropolises, there must be a crackdown on the illegal sale of these quotas to ensure that hukou are obtained through legal channels and these cities get the talented professionals they need.

(China Daily 08/26/2014 page8)