Young women, some pregnant and others breastfeeding toddlers, who sell fake student IDs of all kinds, have become a phenomenon outside the east gate of Renmin University of China in Beijing.
Fake IDs of Peking University, Renmin University and Tsinghua are among the most frequently used, mainly to get discounts on tourist attractions.
A survey by China Youth Daily has found that most of them are aware of their delinquencies but nonetheless choose to stay active in the illegal business and use their pregnancies or motherhood to avoid punishment.
In one extreme case, a woman gave birth to six children so that she could always have one infant protector.
"She made three million over the years," one ID dealer named Wang Hong commented.
The survey also found very few of the women ever thought about the future, instead tending to "simply repeat past patterns."
(China.org.cn July 10, 2012)