Chinese police solve 430 fake ID cases

BEIJING -- Chinese police solved 430 cases involving counterfeiting, purchasing and selling fake IDs or "hukou" household registration documents in a three-year campaign.

A total of 702 people and 249 police officers were punished for their involvement, according to a statement released after a national public security meeting on hukou management on Thursday.

Of the police employees, 70 were removed from their posts and 69 held criminally liable.

The nationwide campaign to deal with incorrect, fake or duplicate ID information and the corruption behind it began in 2014.

Police have nullified nearly 3.1 million duplicate hukou records and corrected about 11 million items of wrong personal information in the past three years, said the statement.

Hukou is China's household registration and administration system, which is linked to citizens' ID cards and personal records. It ties access to basic social welfare and public services to one's place of residence, and hukou benefits differ based on the region, creating a demand for counterfeits.

As Chinese cities restrict property purchases to prevent housing bubbles, demand has grown for fake IDs.

Vice Public Security Minister Huang Ming said police departments across the country should control the hukou system, help migrant workers obtain permanent urban residence, and bring the unregistered population into the hukou system.