2011 report to congress - U.S.-China Economic and Security Review ...

dkrause on DSKHT7XVN1PROD with $$_JOB117curb rural-to-urban migration; the hukou is used to maintainthe urban unit (danwei) system, to extract agriculturalsurplus (especially during the high Maoist period), and toenforce rigorous birth control measures (in the reform era),among other policy goals. . . . Likewise, China’s hukou systemhas persisted and evolved into an even more complicatedmatrix of governance during the market transitionyears. 466Although rural migrants are a key part of the workforce for China’surban-based exporters, these transplanted workers must liveas second-class citizens when in urban areas, due in part to theirrural hukou status. Not only do migrant workers face discriminationand lower wages from employers, but their families also arerestricted from access to government services, including education,Dr. Huang testified. In some areas, migrant workers are restrictedfrom purchasing property and registering vehicles and are ineligiblefor subsidized housing and public health insurance programs.467Migrant workers in urban areas therefore live very basic lifestylesand tend to have high rates of saving. This allows migrantworkers to maximize the amount they can send home and to accruefunds to cover healthcare, housing, and education costs.According to the 2010 national census, more than 260 millionChinese citizens are a part of the ‘‘floating population’’ and do notlive in the area designated on their hukou. 468 In Beijing alone, onein three residents is a migrant. This is a significant increase whencompared with the year 2000’s ratio of one in five. 469 Similarly,Shanghai’s migrant population accounts for approximately 39 percentof the city’s total population, an increase of 159 percent since2000. 470 For both cities, migrants have been both a burden and anasset. On the one hand, the influx of migrants has taxed localtransportation and healthcare facilities. On the other hand, migrantshave reduced labor shortages in Shanghai and alleviatedBeijing’s aging population issue.This dichotomy has made it difficult for the central governmentto overcome objections from municipalities to ending the hukou system.The Chinese government at the central and local levels hasbegun to address some of the problems, with mixed results.Healthcare has been expanded in rural areas. However, the levelof care provided in rural areas is still below the urban standard,and doctors often will require full payment in advance for morecomplicated treatments. 471Holders of rural and urban hukou have joined in protest over thepast year against the registration system’s unfair policies. One ofthe most popularly supported issues is education and the inabilityof rural hukou holders to sit for the national university entranceexamination in cities despite having lived there for the majority oftheir lives. Students must take the exam wherever their hukou isregistered. For children of migrant workers, this means travelingto their parent’s hometown and taking tests based on the local curriculum,which may differ from what they have prepared for in thecities. 472In May 2011, Beijing authorities revised public middle school admissionspolicies to give more access to non-Beijing hukou holders.VerDate Nov 24 2008 13:46 Nov 10, 2011 Jkt 067464 PO 00000 Frm 00129 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 G:\GSDD\USCC\2011\067464.XXX 067464