"The household registration system is the byproduct of a planned economy. It has a lot of loopholes and doesn't fit the market economy. It not only hinders the free flow of population by prohibiting farmers from getting urban hukou (household registration) but also leads some privileged people to engage in corruption."

ZHENG YEFU, professor of sociology at Peking University, responding to the case of a former bank official who has four hukou and more than 20 houses in Beijing worth more than 1 billion yuan ($160 million).