On December 27, 2016, Nanjing municipal government released the Measures for Implementation of the Points-based Household Registration System in Nanjing, and the Administrative Measures of Household Registration Admittance in Nanjing. Accordingly, the new points-based household registration policy will be formally enforced in Nanjing On February 1, 2017, marking the end of the policy of purchasing house for registered residence. In such a context, Professor Liu Zhibiao, Dean of Yangtze IDEI, pointed out that, “Some people believe that the freedom of migration is a basic right of citizens in modern society. They support implementation of the points-based household registration system for foreigners, but are strongly opposed to implementation of this system for the Chinese, as Nanjing should be open to the people all over the country, not just citizens of Nanjing. The root cause behind the question is the rationality of the points-based household registration system which restricts free migration among different regions.”
