The importance of China’s hukou household registration system may be paramount to migrant workers seeking urban residence, but to the officials in charge of the system, it’s a gold mine.

According to a April 21 report by Xinhua, two officials at the Pingshan district personnel department in Shenzhen were found to have received more than 3.5 million yuan ($562,000) in kickbacks by siphoning hukou application quotas to an illegal third- party agency.

Shenzhen implemented an hukou application system in which interested applicants, including students, migrant workers and scholars, are granted the right to permanent residency if they have accumulated enough points. Points are awarded for work experience, educational background, property ownership, payment of taxes, and social insurance.

The total number of applicants for Shenzhen residency last year is unknown, but by July 7, 2013, the city had accepted 30,000 applicants through the city’s legal channels for employment, according to iFeng.

He Weicai, director of Pingshan’s personnel department, pocketed 200 residency quotas and gave them to an illegal agency run by Zhang Kuijian. He and Zhang then forged application information in conjunction with Nei Xiaping, another official at the personnel department, the report said.

In return, Zhang gave He 1.8 million yuan in cash. Zhang gave Nie 2.5 million yuan in cash as well as an apartment worth 1.5 million yuan, according to the report.

He and Nie are said to have been placed under criminal investigation.

Photo: Nanfang Daily