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| This photo shows the construction of new high-rise apartments that will house villagers near the city of Anshun, Guizhou province in February 2014. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images |
Chinese – whether it is national strength, cultural renewal or more modest personal goals. For many of those living in the vast countryside, the dream is a life in a city and some of the benefits that go with it.
But a major plan for urbanization seems to be saying to those would-be urban residents dreaming of better retirement, health and education services, they can pretty much forget about it.
Vice Minister of Public Security Huang Ming told reporters this week that the tight controls on who lives where under the hukou, or household-registration, system, won’t be abandoned anytime soon, at least not in the biggest and most attractive cities.
“I wouldn’t say there’s no hope in getting a hukou,” Mr. Huang said at a news briefing Wednesday, referring to strict population controls in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. “I think there’s hope, just not as high as other big cities, especially not as high as smaller cities.”
China has raised hopes with its plans for urbanization, which it sees as a way to boost economic growth. It aims to have about 60% of its more than 1.3 billion people living in urban areas by 2020 and will let some 100 million people move into the nation’s cities by that time.
Still, the plan projects only about 45% of the population would have full rights as urban residents by then, meaning they are eligible for city pensions and medical coverage as well as education for their children.
The government has stressed it will keep a tight grip on cities with populations of more than 5 million.
Mr. Huang said this is necessary due to practical considerations. Cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are already seeing huge strains on their resources and the environment. Their populations need to be slimmed down, he said.
The ministry is drafting detailed measures on hukou reforms, which will be submitted for government approval as soon as possible, Mr. Huang said. He didn’t give any specifics but he said political leaders will focus on easing hukou controls in smaller cities.
Some smaller cities have already eased their hukou controls to attract more rural laborers. But these efforts have been only partially successful because many people prefer to move to larger cities where the jobs and services are considerably better.
The hukou system was set up in 1958 as a social-management tool that tied all social benefits to one’s place of birth, dividing people into urban and rural categories and preventing people from pouring into big cities with better resources.
More than 21 million people lived in Beijing as of the end of last year and a little over 60% have a hukou , according to the municipality’s statistics bureau.
The public reaction to the plan and Mr. Huang’s remarks was one of disappointment.
“It sounds like there’s no hope” to get an urban hukou one day, one user said on his Sina Weibo microblog account.
“Time to wake up,” said another.
The advice from the vice minister?
“If you want to realize your city dream, then dream about small and mid-sized cities – that’s more realistic. If you want to choose especially large cities, [you’ll have to] … have patience.”
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