People's Daily questions corruption behind "house sister"

The People's Daily, flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China (CPC), on Friday called for thorough investigation of the case of a woman who illegally amassed 20 homes using multiple identities.

Gong Ai'ai, 49, who allegedly has at least two identities and "hukou," had been allowed to possess more than 20 houses worth a total of about 1 billion yuan (159 million U.S. dollars).

Chinese netizens dubbed Gong "house sister" after her huge wealth was exposed by a microblogger online.

China's property market controls restrict individuals buying multiple homes, but "ghost" identities can help householders evade restrictions.

The commentary carried by the newspaper said that, as the nation's household registration is being streamlined into a database, being able to fake identities and obtain hukou for big cities such as Beijing means the "house sister" is very "resourceful," and indicates much corruption.

The paper said the public refused to be fooled, urging authorities to thoroughly investigate the case, rather than finding scapegoats while sparing the truly culpable ones.

Furthermore, the People's Daily quoted Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, as saying that "the Party should crack down on 'tigers' and 'flies' at the same time by dealing with the illegal activities of officials and tackling malpractice and corruption cases, which closely impact the people."

"How many tigers and flies are concealed behind the back of the house sister?" the paper questioned. "The government is expected to drive home the investigation, and answer the public outcry with truth."

On Thursday, the Ministry of Public Security set up a special team to supervise the investigation.

Hukou is a Chinese permanent residence registration and personal identification system governed by public security departments. In China, each individual only has one legitimate identity and hukou record.

Gong's scandal came after another case of identity duplicates in central China's Henan Province. Zhai Zhenfeng, a local housing administrative official was arrested earlier this month after he and his family members were found to have dual hukou records and own 31 houses.

Zhai's wife took advantage of his position and sold affordable houses for personal gain.

Such cases cause outrage in China as many people struggle to pay for their only home.