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Breaking News-Beijing Residents wait in line overnight in freezing weather for temporary resident permits

Reports on the 28th of February revealed, police stations in regions of Beijing where there is high population of temporary residence, have received an influx of permit applications for temporary residence. Many people lined up overnight in sub-zero temperatures to submit such applications.

Beijing authorities announced on the 22nd of February, all temporary residents of Beijing more than 16 years of age, who intend to stay for at least one month, must apply for temporary residence permits at their local police station. The Beijing police force began a large scale investigation project, which forced flocks of people to wait outside police stations. By 8am when the police stations opened for operation, more than 400 people were already waiting outside. The earliest in line had arrived and waited since 1am.

According to an on-site security guard, the long waiting lines for temporary residence permit applications began months ago. People arrived at early hours to hold a place, but just recently the situation has worsened.

According to an employee involved with processing such applications, since residents who came from outside of Beijing learned of the investigation on temporary residents, more people have sought after the application. However, 400 is the maximum number of permits that can be processed per day, which has led to the long waiting lines. According to the policy of residence registration, any person who did not originate from Beijing must submit an application for permit of residence; those who do not abide by the policy would suffer punishment. Due to the upcoming Olympics, Beijing authorities are tightening controls over Beijing residents. Through the residence permit application process, the CCP detects and removes people who are regarded as threats to the regime.

The above news was brought to you by Ling Yun and hosted by Wilma Reynolds for Breaking News on the SOH Radio Network.