Until I visited China in 2008, I’d never heard of the Hukou system. But it’s a massive deal in China, with hundreds of millions of migrant workers in the larger cities treated as second-class citizens, with little access to basic government services like schooling and health care. In terms of the sheer number of people it effects, it’s probably the single biggest human rights issue in that country.
So it’s a massive deal if the Hukou system is to be reformed; something that has been predicted for some time but hasn’t seemed to go anywhere. But Kam Wing Chan has a post at the East Asia Forum suggesting that there may be some gradual change in the wings:
Yes it’s true – hukou (household registration) reform is again back in vogue in China’s ‘post-crisis’ conversations. Premier Wen Jiabao has been talking about it and, unusually the catch phrase has also been placed in the first ‘Central Document’ of 2010. Following the lead of these two sources, hundreds of newspaper articles and commentaries have opined on it in the last few weeks. On March 1, 13 big-city newspapers from 11 provinces in China also made a rare joint appeal for accelerating reform of the hukou system in a co-signed editorial. In sum, the issue is firmly in the spotlight, and hopes have been raised for some real hukou reform.
I’m no expert, but it seems straightforward to me that substantial reform of the Hukou system will result in massive social expenditures for the Chinese government (which is obviously a good thing for those currently not receiving such basic services); funding this, without reducing the incomes of Chinese city elites, is going to require continued economic growth. It does tend to explain some of the Chinese reluctance to commit to any kind of emissions reduction that might restrict economic growth, even as their cities choke on their own pollution.
China should be doing everything can to boost personal incomes and domestic consumption. Unfortunately 95% China’s growth in 2009 has been on the investment side with very little of the stimulus (monetary and fiscal) flowing to personal incomes. Its been great for Australia — all that iron ore going into railways, apartment buildings etc — but not so good for the average Chinese.
However, the stimulus did achieve its main aim — keeping people employed through the crisis — but there’s no Plan B for China’s economy if western demand doesn’t come back soon.
I recommend this video interview with Michael Pettis for anyone interested in the Chinese economy.
The system does seriously need reform, but I am very dubious as to how this reform will be achieved and what it will actually entail. My immediate thought is that it will be used to move more people out to “frontier” areas rather than provide better services in the cities; though it would be hard to imagine how it could produce greater social divide than at present.
Hokou isn’t just for Mainlander Chinese, or for Communists. Equivalents exist for Taiwan, North Korea, Vi?t Nam, and even Japan. Household registration as a social control tool goes back to Confucian times, and has affected all the regions above. The Vietnamese term for the same thing – “H? Kh?u” is obviously derived from Mandarin “Hokou”.
I can’t speak for the most countries, but I think VN should do what the South Koreans did some years ago – abolish residency permits. The only people who benefit from H? Kh?u are the cops – they’re the one who decide who can reside in their area, and accordingly find it a lucrative custom. Those from the countryside who can’t afford the bribes can just sleep on the streets, and they do – children included.
You’ve got the Chinese class hierarchy wrong Robert. It’s third class citizen for those pesky migrant workers — Normal citizens are second class — only officials etc. are first class
More seriously, it’s not just social benefits that would be a problem with removing the system and other restrictions on movement that exist — it’s that the prosperous cities would get overwhelmed and not have the infrastructure to deal with the influx. I think the Chinese idea is that if this happens, everyone ends up worse off, and they’d rather put up with essentially enforced inequality across cities than let this happen.
Are there any government social benefits in China? Unless you mean subsidies for essentials like cooking oil and rice. China seems to be a totally user-pays society with no government social welfare benefits whatsoever. No dole, no health services, even rural schools exclude kids whose peasant parents can’t afford the fees.
Reforming the hukou system seems an obvious thing to do, given that the danwei (work unit) system and the iron ricebowl have already been abandoned. Having said that, the prospect of China many 5-million-plus super-cities becoming even bigger mega-cities like Chongqing must be a worry for the government. China is already short of cultivated land, thanks to the real estate bubble. If rural residents flock to the cities, China may become even more food insecure.
Doesn’t look like hukou reform is something the government is ready for.
Editor Who Authored Chinese Editorial On Reform Ousted by Authorities