The media accuses China’s elites of controlling housing supply and pushing up housing prices

The media accuses China’s elites controlling housing supply and driving up housing prices. "When household registration corruption appears repeatedly in real estate scandals, Chinese people are angry",...

"Dual Personality Syndrome of China's powerful people", Asia News Agency reported on the 6th under the title that the latest person to be exposed in a similar scandal is Zhao Haibin, a senior official in the public security system of Lufeng City, Guangdong Province. His two ID cards even have the same photo, which is said to be unknown to everyone in the local area. The Guardian said that Zhao Haibin was accused of illegally owning 192 houses, "which is a shocking and record-breaking number." He was also called "Fang Ye" by angry Chinese netizens. Gong Aiai, the deputy president of the bank in Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province, who also used a fake ID to own 41 houses with a total real estate value of more than 1 billion yuan, has been detained. She is called the "Fang Sister". Zhai Zhenfeng, the former director of the housing management bureau of a district in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, who has been arrested and whose family owns about 30 houses, is known as "Uncle Fang." According to reports, corrupt officials' use of fake IDs to evade regulations and hoard real estate has become a hot topic in Chinese society. People who own dozens of houses all have "dual identities." Without government background or police connections, it is difficult to forge identities.

The Wall Street Journal said on the 6th that China's household registration system itself has been criticized for forcibly controlling the geographical flow of the population and creating differences between urban and rural areas. Now fake ID cards are being forged at will, and the police are assisting the privileged class in committing fraud, which has aroused social dissatisfaction and criticism of the household registration system. CNN said on the 6th that the latest exposed "Fang Ye" Zhao Haibin is considered to be one of the reflections of internal corruption in China's public security department. Although China's Ministry of Public Security stated that it has dealt with 121 police officers who illegally registered household registration in recent years, outsiders believe that the system and the cancer within it are "far from being removed."

Reuters reported on the 6th that the Chinese people's anger towards "fang lords" and "fang sisters" has become even higher because of the high housing prices. Housing prices and real estate speculation are the most sensitive topics in China at the moment. The Chinese government, which is about to expire in March this year, has always stated that it will work hard to control housing prices. However, the purchase restriction order cannot prevent some people from using various means to cheat. In the past few months, China's real estate prices have recovered rapidly, and housing prices in first- and second-tier cities have returned to an upward trend. There is news that first-tier cities such as Beijing will introduce new real estate restrictions in March, but many people have no hope for the effectiveness of these policies. The Guardian stated that there are a large number of people in Chinese society who own real estate as a store of wealth, or who make a living by speculating in real estate. "Fang Lords" and "Fang Sisters" control a large number of houses, further pushing up housing prices, and further widening the existing income gap and psychological rifts within Chinese society. "China's widening gap between rich and poor has been reflected in the gap between the large number of people without houses and the small number of privileged classes who own many houses."

"The scandal of Chinese officials illegally amassing real estate has further focused the outside world on the relationship between official corruption and China's booming real estate market." The Wall Street Journal said on the 6th that housing prices have been closely linked to China's intensifying anti-corruption problem. "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" reported on the 6th that an anti-corruption storm is brewing in China, and people hope that corrupt officials will be uncovered as soon as possible. However, the official scandals that continue to break out are also testing the credibility of the ruling party among the people. Some scholars have called on China to learn from the United States and Japan, strictly require officials to disclose property information, and impose property taxes. Similar pilot projects have been adopted in Shanghai and Guangdong, but some government officials and experts point out that it is still difficult to fully implement these measures.