Apparently they have changed their tune
https://slate.com/news-and-politics...borate-with-ngos-to-better-homeless-care.html
China Can’t Help Its Homeless Alone
It once tried to ship them out of cities. Then it tried to shelter them. Now it’s asking NGOs for an assist.
The repatriation system was established in 1982 as part of a government program aimed at stopping people from leaving their hometowns without government permission. The system gave police the right to detain anyone who could not show a residence permit or temporary living permit. Targeted by the system were beggars and homeless people who had come to cities looking for a better way of life. After holding them in centers for short periods, police often sent these people back to their hometowns.
The 2003 death of Sun Zhigang, a migrant worker in the southern province of Guangdong whose hometown was far away in the central province of Hubei, triggered an outcry that led to reforms. Sun died from physical abuse inflicted on him by police while being detained in a center in the city of Guangzhou.
Later, the detention center network was replaced with a system through which the government offered “temporary shelter for the homeless” with the goal of “maintaining social order in cities.” Government agencies were ordered to “encourage and support social organizations and individuals that help homeless people and beggars.”