Cheng then began to study related laws hoping to solve this problem. Zhang Yong's case gave Cheng another chance to challenge the household registration system. (来源：英语杂志 http://www.EnglishCN.com)

Cheng Hai told Zhang Yong that according to a law put into effect in 1958, which is China's only law ruling the Chinese citizens' residential activities, Zhang Yong can register his newborn son's hukou at the city where they have a fixed residence. Since Zhang has bought an apartment in Beijing, he can give his son a Beijing hukou according to the law.

Then, Zhang Yong started his work to apply for the residential certificate for his son at the police station in Changping district. Just as he thought, the application was rejected.

On January 11, 2008, Zhang Yong sued the police station at the local court in Changping district. On February 15, Zhang was informed that the indictment was dismissed. It said that the case was beyond their jurisdiction of the court. It's the second time that Cheng Hai's attempt of challenging the hukou registration system was dismissed by the court. He felt very confused. China's big cities like Beijing did set significant limits on the eligibility of transferring or registering migrants' hukou. However, since there is law explaining how the residents can make their hukou registration, why can't the court deal with the case by law?

Some experts say that the ruling doesn't mean the court does not dare to deal with the lawsuit under the current system. The government also has its explanation of why they couldn't let the migrants' children register their hukou in the city according to related regulations. The only way to solve the problem might be reforming the current household registration system and eliminating the limitations that have been existing for a long time. Fortunately, the Ministry of Public Security has been working on it already. According to the resolution brought by the National Development and Reform Commission, they are hoping to eliminate the old household registration system in the next 3 to 5 years.

Edited from "China News Weekly"