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

118Previously, options for migrant students were scarce and includedpaying upwards of 30,000 RMB for ‘‘sponsorship fees’’ that wouldallow non-Beijing hukou holders access to Beijing public middleschools. 473 Of 102,000 children who graduated primary school inBeijing this year, 33.4 percent did not possess a Beijing hukou. 474The new policy is expected to equalize entrance requirements formore than 30,000 students without a Beijing hukou.Protests are rarely focused on the hukou system alone but ratheron specific effects of the system. Farmers, whose residency licensesrequire them to live in rural areas, can be evicted nevertheless byChinese officials through land seizures for infrastructure projectsor land development. Without their means of livelihood, they areforced to move. Indeed, local governments rely on land sales for asmuch as 60 percent of their revenues in some cases, according toCity University of Hong Kong political scientist Joseph Cheng. 475This type of activity frequently results in protests. 476 In March,2,000 Chinese villagers in Suijiang in Yunnan Province launcheda five-day protest against unfair prices offered for land in a forcedrelocation for a hydroelectric dam. Most farmers in the region wereoffered the equivalent of only $1,740 per acre, but many withoutthe proper hukou were disqualified from any payment. Chineseparamilitary police broke up the demonstration, claiming that adozen police, but no civilians, had been injured. 477One of the most notable calls to action against the hukou systemoccurred in March 2010 when 13 Chinese newspapers initiated acoordinated petition for hukou reform. Part of their jointly publishededitorial read:‘China has suffered from the hukou [household registration]system for so long,’ the appeal said. ‘We believe peopleare born free and should have the right to migrate freely,but citizens are still troubled by bad policies born in the eraof the planned economy and [now] unsuitable.’ 478Chinese officials are exploring ways to amend the structure withoutcompletely abolishing hukou. China has launched several programsin rural areas and second-tier cities to improve access to socialservices, such as basic healthcare. However, Chinese officialsstill fear they would be faced with a massive influx of migrantsinto the cities. Local governments argue that the increased demandfor public services, such as housing and healthcare, would overwhelmthem if the influx were too rapid. In addition, urban residentsin major Chinese cities have already protested modest attemptsat increasing the rights of migrant workers out of fear thatthe current residents would face a loss of jobs and increased competition.479 In both cases, the party and the government considerthe potential instability too great a risk. Dr. Huang estimated thatChina’s rate of urbanization would grow rapidly from the current40 percent to nearly 70 percent.dkrause on DSKHT7XVN1PROD with $$_JOBVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:46 Nov 10, 2011 Jkt 067464 PO 00000 Frm 00130 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 G:\GSDD\USCC\2011\067464.XXX 067464