Beijing census gets under way

By Han Manman

The month-long city population census ahead of the sixth national census began last Sunday, and Beijing police are warning people to be careful of fake enumerators.

As many as 100,000 enumerators will enter Beijing homes to register residents through September 15. The national census, held every 10 years, begins November 1.

The enumerators are largely from local communities and the Beijing census will be conducted mainly on weekends or when people are off work, from 6 to 8 pm, said Su Hui, deputy director of the Beijing Bureau of Statistics and director of the Beijing Sixth Population Census unit.

“Unlike population censuses, this year we will register people according to their current residences rather than their registered residences,” he said.

Meanwhile, Su said the bureau has already received reports of fraudulent enumerators. He said the photos, names and ID numbers of official census takers will be posted in every residential community, but that household members should carefully check the enumerators’ uniforms and badges when they show up.

Beijing’s population numbered 20 million at the end of 2009, among whom 7 million were migrant workers. But studies have shown that official statistics have long overlooked the capital’s huge number of short-term residents.

Foreigners and residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan living on the mainland will also be counted for the first time.

Enumerators will try to weed out false family information. Su said many households do not report the death of family members so they can continue collecting social insurance from the government. Some children born in violation of the country’s family-planning policy are also not registered, Su added.

All information collected in the census will be kept confidential and will not be used to prosecute violators, he said.

China’s last census, which took place in November 2000, recorded a population of 1.29 billion. The first census, in 1963, recorded a population of just over 600 million.