Custody and repatriation

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Custody and repatriation (shourong qiansong) was an administrative procedure established in 1982 by which the police in the People's Republic of China could detain non-residents if they did not have a hukou and return them to their place of origin. These regulations were particularly disliked by members of the floating population in China.

In 2003, Sun Zhigang died in police custody in Guangzhou after being detained illegally with temporary resident permit under C&R regulations. The spreading of the news on the Internet led to a public outcry against the practice. Senior Chinese legal scholars wrote to the legislature, questioning the constitutionality of this regulation. One particular problem with the regulations was that they were adopted as regulations by the State Council and not as a law by the full National People's Congress, and as a result it was argued that the law was unconstitutional on the grounds that it violated Article 8 of the Legislation Law of the People's Republic of China.

In June 2003, Premier Wen Jiabao announced that C&R regulations were abolished and would be replaced by Measures for Assisting Vagrants and Beggars with No Means of Support in Cities. Many commentators have argued that his action in abolishing the regulation was taken after it became clear that the NPCSC would almost certainly find the regulation to be unconstitutional.