The Chinese Hukou System at 50

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  • April 25, 2010 at 8:59 am #4932
    Rob_Hugo@PortNW
    Keymaster

    I think this is an amazing article. I had no idea the extent of institutionalized discrimination within the country. The complexity of the "migration control system" boggles the mind. The author's point that they system presents an obstacle to China becoming a modern nation. What I find so amazing is how did the masses of people on some level "agree" to this? How did the population that had so much poverty agree to have the urban workers get a subsidy while the farmers did not? The article mentions issues of tight mobility during Mao's tenure, has the system been altered since this time? So -- with a little bit of sass -- if I am a single male from a rural area who has been recruited for enrollment in an institution of higher learning can I get an urban wife so my kids will have a better life?

    May 10, 2010 at 5:44 am #28361
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Well, I guess Communism does purport that a period of a control will be necessary (there is a phrase for this that I am forgetting- can someone help me?) before the NEXT, more glorious phase of Communism where there are relaxed controls and more prosperity for everyone, right? I mean, from that perspective, I can understand the reasoning, though like you dpaul, I have to say I am ignorant of the official, "party line," and also like you wonder deeply at the thoughts and perspectives of ordinary Chinese who seem to endure so much for what? the hope of a better future for their children I guess.I too, hope for them and their future because there seems to be so much widespread poverty, distress, and lack of education and freedom. Makes you appreciate some things....

    June 22, 2010 at 12:43 am #28362
    Anonymous
    Guest

    What I wonder is how with the billions of people in China, this system was as rigid as it appears to be. When just contemplating the basic freedoms that a civil society has, freedom of movement is one that comes to mind. It wasn't too long ago that I saw a report on China and the difficulty that the transportation systems were going to experience because the "illegal" workers in the city were going to have to return home to celebrate the Lunar New Year, I think it was. When I heard this report it made me think that the system perhaps must be on the verge of collapsing or that just like in our society, the reality of undocumented workers is accepted. I wonder if the Chinese are looking for a comprehensive migration reform law that will legalize its own citizens to fill the much needed jobs in urban areas...

    June 24, 2010 at 7:08 am #28363
    Anonymous
    Guest

    I remember the first time that I heard about the citizens of China being undocumented workers in Beijing, it was a hard idea to wrap my mind around. The cultural bias that I have is about xenophobia, not from within a country. The cultures of China are sometimes difficult to understand. I remember in the 80's when the resolution to the rabies problem in Beijing was to kill all the dogs!

    June 26, 2010 at 1:16 pm #28364
    Anonymous
    Guest

    The Hukou system has been a large part of China's ability to grow so rapidly. By keeping 85% of the population out of the pool for state benefits and resources China is allowing itself to reinvest in its infrastructure and continual growth. I just wonder how long it's going to take to ensure the people who were supposed to benefit from the communist revolution are actually granted full citizenship within their own country. What about the opportunity to live well. I find it very interesting that just a few years after the revolution the constitutional right to be mobile within Chinese society was repealed.

    June 28, 2010 at 8:23 am #28365
    Anonymous
    Guest

    I didn't know about China's Hukou system. I only knew that the government dictated where a person could work (like after college, graduates were sent to certain areas). Now I understand how China uses one aspect (control movement of people) to grow economically. I understand why China uses the Hukou system but at the cost of so many people to suffer and held back from opportunity? I now understand why that person's depression who murdered the school children-- he didn't have a "way out" I'm not condoning his actions. The only positive aspect of the Hukou is the detail records of family history... I wish we had a system to keep track of our roots.

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