(ECNS) - Starting next year, each and every Chinese citizen will have a single residence registration, also known as a "Hukou," and a unique ID number, according to an announcement by China's Ministry of Public Security on Wednesday.
The ministry launched a three-year campaign in 2014 to clean up duplicated ID numbers and multiple Hukou registrations.
The campaign saw "the number of citizens having the same ID numbers reduced to 486 from 1.68 million in 2009, and 2.5 million Hukou that were either duplicated or invalid have been liquidated," said Huang Ming, Vice Minister of Public Security, at a conference.
The ministry will continue the campaign for another year, according to Huang.
The reason for the complicated Hukou management is that the police are assisting in the registration of "wrong and even false" Hukou, Huang added.
A total of 176 police officers have been punished for issuing illegitimate ID certificates for citizens seeking extra government entitlement in 2014.
In China, social benefits such as medical insurance and access to basic education are allocated based on IDs and Hukou registrations.
